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Several olefinic products have been developed in the last decade
with a prime objective of replacing flexible PVC, but none have
succeeded yet on commercial ground. In fact, Dow decided to stop
production of Index Ethylene-Styrene interpolymer recently because
of limited success as a stand-alone material or as a property modifier.
Asahi Kasei has recently commissioned a new 15,000 tonnes plant
at Kawasaki, Japan to produce Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene Olefinic
elastomer using a process that can help in making the product quite
cost competitive to flexible PVC. It is not using Metallocene catalyst
system.
The SoE products have flexibility and other mechanical properties
similar to flexible PVC. In fact, they exhibit better scratch and
wear resistance as compared to flexible PVC. They also demonstrate
good weathering characteristics. These products also show good compatibility
with olefinic and styrenic polymers. What is most interesting is
that grades can be processed by calendering process that is generally
used for flexible PVC sheeting. The competitive cost and absence
of halogen would provide a very interesting alternative to PVC that
has some resentments on account of environmental issues.
Asahi Kasei is presently concentrating in two PVC applications.
They are: Automotive interior (leathercloth) and medical catheter.
Those processors, who are interested in replacing flexible PVC due
to environmental reasons, can certainly consider in the evaluation
of these new polymer products. More details on these products can
be obtained from www.akelastomer.com
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