The Dow Chemical Company exhibited three new grades of Nordel EPDM products at the International Elastomers Conference in October 9-11 in Louisville.
Dirk Zinkweg, Dow Chemical's Global Product Director for Nordel EPDM, said the new Nordel grades represent the company's commitment to expanding its product offerings.
The new grade products are:
Nordel 3765 XFL EPDM, an additional fill load (XFL) grade product designed for automotive hose, belt and sheet products;
Nordel 4571 XFM EPDM, a fast-mixing (XFM) grade product for automotive sealing systems, hoses and building profiles; and
Nordel 4771 XFL EPDM, an additional fill-load (XFL) grade product for automotive sealing systems, hoses and thermoplastic vulcanizates.
Zinkweg said: "These new grades have no particular new applications, but they help improve the performance of our customers' products. They have good potential for products such as conveyor belts and non-automotive hoses. But it is clear that the largest The potential lies in transportation. "
According to Zinkweg, they provide different levels of crosslinking and crystallization. But he said that all of these new products offer better mixing capabilities, which improves product performance.
According to Zinkweg, Dow's new product is based on the Dow Nordel portfolio, which expanded in 2017 with three other Nordel products.
These oil-filled, ultra-fast curing (XFC) grades are 6555 OE, 6565 XFC, and 6530 XFC. According to the Dow Chemical Company, these grades can be quickly mixed and cured, processed faster than other EPDMs, and provide comprehensive performance to achieve a complete next-generation automotive sealing system.
The Dow Chemical Company said that the six new products have achieved the best balance in terms of surface sealing and aesthetics, component strength, elasticity and compressive performance.
The company claims that they meet and exceed industry requirements, suppress vibration and prevent noise, and significantly improve surface quality by providing high-end surface treatments.
Zinkweg said Dow's advanced catalyst technology used to make EPDM gives the company a major advantage over its competitors.
"We think this technology allows us to do things that others cannot do," he said. "Our advanced catalysts make these products stand out."
Zinkweg said that Nordel products not only have excellent durability and service life, but also consume less energy and emit less carbon dioxide during the manufacturing process.
Dow said that Nordel EPDM products have a much smaller environmental impact than EPDM produced by the Ziegler-Natta solution process.
"This is a direct result of increased manufacturing process efficiency and helps reduce emissions," the company said.
The company claims that Nordel EPDM technology saves 24% energy, reduces acidification by 37%, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 39%, reduces smoke by 45%, and reduces ozone consumption by 69% compared to Ziegler-Natta technology.