TECHNOLOGY | WIRE AND CABLE
Right: LKAB’s UltraCarb is being used as an alternative to ATH in cable compounds
larger processing window without severe reduction of throughput, compared to 4-flighted kneaders. The company says this leads to higher flexibility in running various formulations at a constantly high throughput rate. “The latest generation of our compounding machines, the Compeo, is just being introduced into the market,” says Loviat. “The huge flexibility of this machine allows the production of a wide variety of cable compounds, from rubber to PVC, including low smoke halogen-free compounds, XLPE and even engineering plastics on the same machine, which was not the case on former generations of machines. This will allow cable producers to standardise their machine park for greater efficien- cy and simplified maintenance activities.”
Below: Thermodan HF TP343NT is a low smoke halogen-free thermoplastic compound for copper and fibre optic cable jackets from Saco AEI
Alternative supply Cable compound producers are also having to deal with shortages of some of their material staples. LKAB Minerals says, with aluminium trihydroxide (ATH) currently in short supply, manufacturers of cable compounds are looking for alternatives and it is seeing increased demand for its UltraCarb filler. “UltraCarb, a product manufactured from
hydromagnesite and huntite, was already posi- tioned as a natural mineral replacement for ATH, with both performance and sustainability benefits,” says Ian Yates, UltraCarb Business Development Manager at LKAB Minerals. “These latest develop- ments add better sustainability to the list of reasons to change; in particular, availability and long-term pricing stability.” The company says, when used as a fire retard- ant, ATH releases water in a single action process, while UltraCarb offers a three-stage fire retardant mechanism with water release, CO2
release and
finally char formation as temperatures rise further. This three-stage mecha- nism is claimed to allow the
filler to offer significant improve-
ment in fire retardancy and safety. As a consequence, UltraCarb is widely used in
halogen-free and PVC cable sheathings, foam insulation and rubber products. LKAB Minerals also recently commissioned an
evaluation of the environmental impact of Ultra- Carb in compliance with ISO 14040-14044. It concluded that using UltraCarb in place of tradi- tional flame retardant fillers such as ATH resulted in 40-45% lower greenhouse gas emissions and
46 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2019
energy consumption, according to the company. “Experience has shown that to obtain the full performance benefits of UltraCarb some modifica- tion to formulation and processing conditions is often necessary when compared with traditional ATH-based formulations,” says Yates. “In co-opera- tion with customers and major machine manufac- turers, LKAB Minerals has developed and tested formulations successfully and UltraCarb has gained high industry acceptance. We can see from the requests we are receiving that the uncertainty of ATH developments has brought an increased interest to consider a change of flame retardant. Since we doubled our production capacity and developed additional grades, such as UltraCarb LH3 for this market, we are also ready to support these initiatives.”
Media solutions Turning to compound developments, Saco AEI Polymers has introduced Thermodan HF TP343NT, a high performance, low smoke halogen-free, thermoplastic wire and cable jacket compound for copper media cables – category 5e and 6 and UL subject 444 – that passes the UL 1666 riser flame test. When used as a jacket for fibre optic cables, TP343NT can help meet the stringent new European CPR regulations at the B2 classification. Thermodan HF TP343NT is natural in colour, UV resistant and certified halogen-free by UL to UL 2885. The company has also introduced Pexidan HF
S/C-UV, a low smoke zero-halogen, moisture cured XLPE jacket compound. The Pexidan HF S/C-UV system is suitable for applications in: UL 1277 tray cables and UL subject 13 power-limited tray cables; mass transit systems; thermoset fibre optic cables for European CPR requirements and hazardous environments; offshore petrochemical oil plat- forms; and substation control cables. When used with Pexidan HF X/T low smoke zero-halogen insulation compound and an LSZH barrier tape, or with Pexidan V/T-2 halogenated insulation com-
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: LKAB MINERALS
PHOTO: SACO AEI POLYMERS
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