feature | Wire and cable
mental friendly flame retardant solutions.” LKAB Minerals says natural mineral-based flame
retardants are an attractive and viable solution to this challenge and the company has supplied its range of UltraCarb flame retardant fillers based on Huntite and Hydromagnesite to the wire and cable industry for many years. The company adds that it has developed new products and added further capacity in response to this growing demand. Most recently, during the second half of 2015, additional capacity came on stream and new efficiency improvements implemented. “In volume terms, halogen-free cable compounds
represent both the largest sector as well as the greater technical challenge for flame retardant fillers,” explains Yates. “Customers demand a high level of product quality and consistency. LKAB Minerals’ response has been to introduce new finer products with narrow particle size distributions previously not seen in natural flame retardant products. For example, the UltraCarb LH3 product line was successfully introduced during 2015 and has been extended to include special surface treated grades to improve performance further in both mechani- cal properties and fire retardance in a cable compound.” Huber Engineered Materials has significantly
Below: UltraCarb flame retardant fillers from LKAB Minerals are based on Huntite and Hydromagne- site minerals
increased its global presence in flame retardants and smoke suppressants for wire and cable applications. In February, Huber acquired the Martinswerk halogen- free flame retardants and speciality chemical busi- nesses of Albemarle Corporation - the fourth and largest acquisition to the fire retardant additive business over the past five years. In 2015, Huber purchased the Safire nitrogen and phosphorus flame retardant technology from Floridienne Group and Catena Additives. Key Martinswerk brands used in wire and cable applications are Martinal aluminium hydrox- ides and Magnifin magnesium hydroxide. Safire products are specialised char forming additives which have a broad temperature range and impart good fire
retardance and smoke suppression in engineering plastics, electrical and coating applications. Huber says that it intends to integrate the technology within its existing halogen-free portfolio. In addition to the acquisitions, Huber has introduced
several new products to expand its line of fire retardants and smoke suppressants in wire and cable. These include Vertex 100 magnesium hydroxide and Zerogen 100 SP magnesium hydroxide. The company says Vertex 100 has a median particle size of 1.5 microns and a surface area of 14 m2
/g, and is a product well-suited for halogen-free
cable jackets. It is also available in surface-treated versions, which offers the compounder flexibility with good physical properties. Zerogen 100 SP is an ultrafine particle size, low surface area, high purity grade designed to provide good dry and wet electrical properties in halogen-free wire and cable compounds. Median particle size is 0.8 microns with a surface area of 5 m2
/g.
Another new Huber fire retardant additive is Hydral 9280 FD precipitated alumina trihydrate. It is a fully deagglomerated powder with a median particle size of 2.0 microns and offers optimised particle size distribu- tion, low soluble soda and low conductivity. The primary applications include copper clad laminates and wire and cable compounds. Huber also offers alumina trihydrate and magnesium hydroxide flame retardant products in a range of particle sizes and surface treatments for wire and cable. According to the company, a noticeable trend in the
wire and cable industry is the increasing use of treated ground calcium carbonates in wire insulation com- pounds that have historically used non-surface treated calcium carbonates. The company says addition of treated ground calcium carbonate results in a dramatic increase in linear line output and smoother surface finishes, due to the increased lubricity spread over the high surface area of the particles. In addition, physical properties in cold weather are improved and plasticizer levels can be optimised for greater cost savings. Huber offers a variety of Hubercarb calcium carbonates in 2- and 3-micron grades and high purity Optifil calcium carbonate 1-micron grades for wire jacketing and insulation applications.
Click on the links for more information: ❙
www.busscorp.com ❙
www.dow.com/electrical ❙
www.agcchem.com ❙
www.borealisgroup.com ❙
www.teknorapex.com ❙
www.melos-gmbh.com ❙
www.lkabminerals.com ❙
www.hubermaterials.com
58 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2016
www.compoundingworld.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
