The Real Costs of manufacturing In-House dispersions
When comparing the raw material costs of in-house production with the purchase of ready-made water-based dispersions, one might initially assume that manufacturing in-house is cheaper. However, a true cost comparison must account for various additional factors involved in in-house dispersion production. In-House Dispersion Production: Hidden Costs You Should Consider When producing dispersions in-house, several hidden costs go […]
VINYL Silanes for the Plastics & Rubber Industry
In July 2023 we focused on sulphur silanes. This month our focus will be on vinyl silanes. We did cover the introductory part in that article. However, at the risk of being repetitious, but for a stand-alone reader, we will repeat it here… Introduction Silanes have been known for about 50 years. They were originally […]
Silanes: SULPHUR Silanes for the Plastics & Rubber Industry, Industrial Coatings, Adhesives & Sealants, Filler Treatments
This month we focus on silanes and more especially sulphur silanes. In the forthcoming month we will focus on vinyl silanes. Introduction Silanes have been known for about 50 years. They were originally used in an industrial scale for adhesives and coatings. In the 70s silanes found their way into the rubber industry as coupling […]
Raw materials in short supply? Look at Alternative Accelerator Blends
There seems to be no end in sight, at least in the immediate future for an end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Reports on the conflict that once dominated headlines, now finds a small mention on page six or seven of newspaper. What does remain is the economic turmoil that the conflict has caused across the […]
Selected Processing Aids in NBR and CR compounds: How do you know your processing aid is working
Last month we brought to you Why one should use Dispergum Zinc soaps as a processing aid. As a follow on to that this month we address the all-important question: How do you know your processing aid is working. What follows are various testing methods, for both NBR and CR, for the processes used for conversion to […]
Why use a processing aid like Dispergum zinc soap (Part 1)
In this two-part article, we bring to you why one should use processing aids like Dispergum zinc soaps for NBR and CR and in the next month, the all-important question: How do you know your processing aid is working – this alongside tests to show the efficacy of these processing aids. The two most common rubbers Nitrile (NBR) and chloroprene […]
Alleviating the downside of using CaO in EPDM Rubber Profiles
The permissible standard for Calcium Oxide is 5 milligrams of CaO per cubic meter of air averaged over an eight-hour work shift. Some countries have recommended 2 milligrams per cubic meter. CaO has been linked to many health hazards like irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin. Severe burns may result from contact with […]
Accelerators to Control Blooming in EPDM (Part 2)
‘Smartly’ use pre-mixed accelerator blends to control blooming Ethylene a-olefin elastomers, particularly ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) rubbers, are excellent all-purpose rubbers. Environmental factors such as oxygen, heat UV and ozone tend to degrade the rubbers. These factors cause free radicals to form which attach to the polymer chain and make the rubber harder. Antioxidants are added to […]
Accelerators to Control Blooming in EPDM
‘Smartly’ use pre-mixed accelerator blends to control blooming Curing in EPDM (Ethylene propylene diene) rubbers is much slower compared to curing in conventional diene rubbers. Therefore, it usually requires a high concentration of highly active curing accelerators. This, though, has its own issues as there is a limit to using high amounts of accelerators, as […]
Protection in Plastics against anti-static discharge
Static electricity has its uses, no doubt. Think laser printers, photocopiers and flash bulbs for photography. Why do we call this static electricity? Static electricity is a kind of electric charge that stays in one place, as in it is really is static. On the other hand, current electricity or electric current, is electricity that moves from one place […]