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The automobile industry is undergoing various
changes. Currently, it is in process of changing the hood compartments
that make engines more hotter. Increasingly, the seals are expected
to perform at temperatures higher than 200ºC, intermittenly
rising to 270ºC. The service requirements are also undergoing
changes. Auto makers are aiming to provide performance with almost
no change in autofluids during the life of automobiles. They demand
permanent seals or provide 10 year warranties for no maintenance.
These demands exert stringent requirements on the elastomeric seals,
which cannot be met by the normal seals made from conventional Fluroelastomers.
High performance Fluroelastomers, costing between $40-$100/kg are
needed to fulfill these new requirements of high temperature resistance
to oils containing alkali amines and very low emissions (0.5gram/24hours)
that are being introduced. These speciality high performance Fluroelastomers
have already reached a level of about 2000 MT out of the total of
about 15000 MT requirement of Fluroelastomers. They are growing
almost at about 7-8% compared to about 3-5% for total Fluroelastomer
demand. All the major Fluroelastomer suppliers like Ashai Fluropolymers
Dupont-Dow Elastomers, and Solvay have been developing these newer
high performance Speciality Fluroelastomer Products.
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