TAGS: Polyurethane Adhesives Sealants Sustainability / Natural Adhesives
LANXESS showcased its product portfolio for the polyurethane industry at UTECH Europe 2021. The company also unveiled its range of polymer additives, a recent addition to its portfolio since the acquisition of Emerald Kalama Chemical.
The portfolio offered by the specialty chemicals company encompasses additives like flame retardants, plasticizers, crosslinkers, catalysts and hydrolysis stabilizers, PU prepolymers for rigid and flexible foams, coatings, elastomers, sealants and adhesives. Recent additions to the LANXESS portfolio include a range of modifiers marketed under the brand name Modulast and specially developed for use in reactive polyurethane systems.
PURe Sustainability
At a conference, Urethane Systems (URE) business unit gave presentations focusing on sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. The presentations cover the following topics:
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A novel hot-cast / cold-cure system for PU that saves energy and cuts CO2 emissions
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Adiprene Green – A new, bio-based solution for PU elastomers
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Pellart – Water-based adhesive agent systems for surface-treated polyolefins
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Low free urethane prepolymers as the building blocks for high-performance protective coatings
These presentations reflect LANXESS’s understanding of sustainability requirements in the PU industry and concentrate on the use of low free technology, the shift from solvent- to water-based systems, the rising demand for renewable, bio-based raw materials and opportunities for customers to reduce their carbon footprint during the processing stage.
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Adiprene low free technology helps to reduce the level of VOC components in the final prepolymer products. In particular, the content of free diisocyanates is reduced,” said Michael Timm, head of marketing & development at URE. The residual monomer content is less than 0.1% by weight.
Related Read: REACH Restriction on Diisocyanates: Current Status
With Adiprene Green, LANXESS has developed a range of bio-based prepolymers that benefit from the replacement of fossil polyols with commercially available, bio-based polyols. “
Our range of polyether-based MDI systems uses starch-based polyether polyols. These systems are ideal drop-ins for existing, fossil-based polyether prepolymers and systems for producing highly resistant polyurethane elastomers,” said Gerald King, head of application technology EMEA at URE. Depending on the system, the carbon footprint can be anywhere between 20% and 30% lower than that of fossil-based prepolymer systems.
Water-based Adhesive Agent System for Surface-treated Polyolefins
With Pellart PR 28 and Pellart PR 29, LANXESS Urethane Systems has developed a range of new adhesive agents for polyolefin-based materials in order to drive the transition toward water-based solutions. These primers act as an adhesive bridge between the substrate and adhesive/coating to ensure a highly durable bond.
In combination with crosslinkers like Trixene Aqua BI 201 (blocked) and Pellart XL 210, these adhesive agents exhibit outstanding physical and chemical properties such as exceptional adhesion on pretreated polyolefin surfaces and to adhesives. They are characterized by their high heat and hydrolysis resistance and high initial strength.
Performance Improvements as Response to Delivery Bottlenecks
Raw materials are in short supply, while pandemic-related delivery bottlenecks are affecting supply chains in a whole range of industries. Thanks to
Modulast modifiers, however, the use of polyols and isocyanates in the formulations can be reduced in both TPU and CASE applications and, at the same time, physical properties can be improved.
Modulast PUR is a proprietary dibenzoate with the highest degree of purity and the lowest hydroxyl content on the market. The modifier ensures exceptional color in the finished product, is low-odor and offers exceptional compatibility, translating to very low migration. Modulast PUR also has no GHS label requirements in the U.S. or Europe and can be used to reduce the levels of expensive and hard-to-source polyols in formulations.
The high-performance modifier
Modulast ACE is characterized by its consistently low hydroxyl content. It is an excellent choice for high-performance applications requiring low odor, extremely low exudation and a good rebound and compression set.
Source: LANXESS