TECHNOLOGY | LFTs
Songxtend 2123 is a long-term thermal stabiliser
that prolongs the life of PP automotive interior parts. To help manufacturers meet application requirements while reducing emissions, it needs to be combined with a low VOC processing stabiliser. Songwon says it developed Songxtend 1103, a high-performance product with excellent compat- ibility with the polymer matrix, for this purpose.
Above: A high-speed retrofit upgrade provides a simple means to boost output from existing ProTec LFT
pultrusion lines
ments as measured by standards including VDA270 German Association of the Automotive Industry, PV3900 Volkswagen SAE standards and the Geely Low Odor Test method for demanding OEMs. “A challenge with developing a product that has
proven low odour for our customers is understand- ing the nuances among the test methods,” says Colleen Kennedy, Product Leader Composites at the company. “For example, some OEMs use microchambers for sampling, whereas others use sampling bags. Because methodologies are not yet standardised, understanding these differences and the latest technology available for testing is critical.” It is also important to have a clear understanding
of where odours are coming from. “With odour in LFT compounds, there’s also a question of source,” she says. “While polypropylene is the main culprit in the compound, we leverage our size technology on the glass fibre to reduce odour as much as possible.” Odour also figures in new additive developments from Songwon. The company says that emissions from polypropylene are one of the biggest challenges faced by car manufacturers today and those involved in the automotive value chain have been seeking ways of reducing them for many years. “Standards developed to support their efforts are becoming increasingly stringent. Today, China is the country with the strictest regulations,” the company notes.
Songwon has developed a range of stabiliser
packages for automotive PP and glass fibre compounds — including LFTs — that provide long term stability and reduce VOC emission levels in interior PP-based thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) automotive applications. Songxtend 2124 is a long-term thermal stabiliser that is claimed to offer triple the heat stability of standard phenolic antioxidants. This makes it well suited for under the hood applications, which are exposed to very high temperatures.
28 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2020
Performance upgrades K2019 saw the introduction of a high-speed retrofit upgrade for ProTec Polymer Processing’s LFT pultrusion lines. The company says the retrofit provides an easy way to boost the production output rates of its existing manufacturing lines for high quality pellets from 30 to 50 m/min. The biggest challenges in terms of raising production rates of pultrusion lines relate to thermal manage- ment, both of the incoming glass and the finished pultruded strands. ProTec’s upgrade package includes an additional preheater and optimised die geometry, which accelerates fibre temperature adjustment and ensures high quality fibre impreg- nation at higher throughput rates, and an addition- al water batch to increase cooling capacity. ProTec has also made adaptations to the pelletiser to run at the higher output rates and significantly updated control software. Numerous LFT compounds can be produced on
ProTec lines. Any conventional thermoplastic can be used as the matrix, the company says, while reinforcement can be provided by glass, steel, aramid and carbon fibres. Even recycled material
Global Polymer Production 300m tonnes
Global Compound Production 50m tonnes
Global LFT Production 0.49m tonnes
LFTs are very much a niche material with global production amounting to around 490,000 tonnes (less than 1% of total global polymer compound production), according to estimates by Compounding World Source: AMI/Compounding World
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: PROTEC POLYMER PROCESSING
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