The product portfolio will range from new offerings in thermoplastic elastomers, PVDF resins, acrylic resin and sheet, bio-sourced solutions, new high performing thermoplastic resins, soybean-based plasticizers, and high performing impact modifiers and compatibilizers for nylons and polyesters.
“In recent years we have marshaled our business resources, technical expertise and manufacturing assets around markets that focus on sustainable benefits to our ultimate end-users,” said Richard Rowe, president and CEO of Arkema’s operations in the Americas. “The products and new technologies we will feature at NPE reflect our focus on megatrends, such as water management, energy-saving lightweight materials, highly durable materials, and natural, bio-based products. We regard NPE as the marquee venue to display our continued expansion into these markets.”
Arkema’s Technical Polymers business will feature its Polyamides products, specifically Pebax elastomers, which now have a consumer-oriented brand for promoting high-end sports equipment directly to athletes. The Pebax Powered program provides a consumer-friendly way to communicate the premium performance of Pebax elastomers in such properties as light weight, energy return, and toughness/flexibility.
Arkema will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Rilsan brand at NPE. Rilsan PA11 is 100 percent bio-based and has provided extreme performance to a variety of markets for seven decades, including automotive, consumer electronics, and 3D printing. Arkema has announced a 300 million Euro investment in Asia to increase global PA11 production capacities by 50 percent.
Arkema has also invested in new U.S. capacity at its Mobile, Ala. production site for its Kepstan PEKK (polyetherketoneketone) copolymer. The unique nature of Kepstan PEKK allows for tailored crystallization rates, making it the enabling polymer in a variety of polymer processes, including additive manufacturing. Due to its excellent thermal properties and chemical resistance, KepstanPEKK is successfully used in several applications in the aerospace and oil and gas market sectors. The new plant is on schedule to come on line at the end of 2018 and will triple Arkema’s global capacity.
The world of PVDF resin continues to evolve and Arkema’s Kynar resins have been a hallmark for excellent melt processibility, chemical resistance, heat resistance, and low permeation. Today, Arkema is incorporating reinforcement additives in the neat resin that enhance heat deflection temperature, flame resistance, and flexural strength while maintaining traditional PVDF properties such as UV resistance, chemical resistance, and impact properties. This subject will be explored at NPE’s ANTEC presentation on Tuesday, May 8, 4:30-5:00 p.m.
Kynar PVDF, Kynar Flex PVDF, Kynar Aquatecfluoropolymer latex, and Kynar film products are used in wire and cable, chemical processing, oil and gas transport, photovoltaics, lithium ion batteries, water filtration, and polymer compounding. This family of fluoropolymers combines many outstanding properties, notably flame and smoke resistance, service temperatures to 150°C, resistance to abrasion, chemical attack, sunlight and UV, radiation, and mechanical stress, all resulting in a material with exceptional long-term stability. Kynar brand products are commonly used in pipes, valves, pumps, tanks and fittings for corrosive chemical handling, off-shore piping for oil exploration, back sheets for solar panels, binder materials for batteries, filters for water purification, and long lasting coatings to protect a variety of outdoor substrates.
Arkema’s Altuglas International business offers solutions for precise, tough molded parts and an outstanding combination of performance properties and value through its family of Plexiglas acrylic thermoplastic resins. At NPE, Altuglas International will feature its recent innovation, Plexiglas Sylk acrylic sheet, which provides an exceptional combination of diffusion and light transmission, with maximum LED hiding power. Applications for Plexiglas Sylk acrylic include not only traditional lighting and skylight/luminary options, but furniture, privacy partitions, and POP displays thanks to its smooth texture and modern finish.Altuglas will also feature its expansion of the Plexiglas ELit Series for larger edge-lit signs that maintain a slim and modern appearance, as well as Altuglas LED Bloc, which is changing the face of store-front signage with its thin, modern profile and its ability to be used independently, without the additional components previously needed for signage.
In Plexiglas resin for Automotive, Altuglas International will feature Plexiglas HT121-LPL acrylic resin, a highly heat-resistant acrylic resin, formulated specifically for long path length (LPL) automotive applications, such as signature lighting and thick lenses. In addition to the already robust optical properties, chemical resistance, and outdoor stability of Plexiglas resins, Plexiglas HT121-LPL resin has significantly improved light transmission and heat stability, ensuring the polymer’s water-white clarity is maintained after injection molding and in its end-use application. The exceptionally low absorption coefficient of Plexiglas HT121-LPL acrylic maximizes light output in long path applications, providing designers outstanding freedom.
Also at NPE, Altuglas International will feature its innovative Elium liquid thermoplastic resin, used in the production of thermoplastic composites reinforced with glass, carbon, or natural fibers. With Elium resin, the resulting composite parts are 30-50 percent lighter than steel equivalents. Elium resins also are easily processed by vacuum infusion, resin transfer molding, wet compression, and pultrusion. These resins cure quickly at room temperature or at elevated temperatures, in some cases in less than two minutes.
Elium resin is used in the FAST-RTM process developed by IRT-M2P, a recipient of the 2017 JEC Innovation Award, in which the shaped parts are processed in under two minutes. Elium resin composite parts exhibit comparable strength to high-end thermoset composite systems, have impact resistance and are thermoformable, weldable, and recyclable.
Arkema’s Organic Peroxides business will showcase a full suite of products for polymerization of vinyl chloride, styrene, and ethylene as well as peroxides for polypropylene modification. New offerings include Luperox JWEB 50 initiator, shown to increase polystyrene manufacturing productivity or to generate polymers with higher molecular weight and greater branching compared to traditional initiators.
