Chinese SEBS Price Surged on High BD Price and Tight Supply

Sinopec Baling Company raised the EXW price of SEBS by RMB 2,000/mt last week. The SEBS offer of Ningbo Keyuan Petrochemical’s SEBS soared to RMB 30,000/mt. Meanwhile, the import price also increased to a large extent.

Asian butadiene price surged. The butadiene price increased by USD 300/mt CFR China. China’s import price of butadiene was RMB 21,500/mt.

For Chinese SEBS producers’ butadiene source, Sinopec Baling Company has its own butadiene products, TSRC (Nantong) Chemical Industrial relied on imported butadiene, and Ningbo Keyuan Petrochemical purchased Chinese-made butadiene. Therefore, the SEBS production cost of Sinopec Baling Company was the lowest in China. The production cost is narrowing recently, thus SCI predicts that the price of SEBS may rise further in the following market.

Currently, the export volume of SEBS is large, leading to limit supply in China. TSRC (Nantong) Chemical Industrial and Sinopec Baling Company put restrictions on sales volume. The imported SEBS from LCY Group can only arrive China in January. Besides, the 20kt/a SEBS unit at Ningbo Keyuan Petrochemical shut down unexpectedly last week, further aggravating the tight supply status in China.

The 30kt/a SEBS unit at Huizhou LCY Elastomer will start trial production after the Spring Festival holiday and will achieve scale production in Q2, 2017. The 20kt/a SEBS unit at Zhejiang Zhongli Synthetic Material won’t be put into production by the end of 2017, thus it will exert no impact to the Chinese SEBS market in the short run.

Though the SEBS demand is just average recently with the Spring Festival holiday approaching, major suppliers’ storage is at a low level on the whole and the supply in China is tight. Therefore, producers will face no trading pressure after the Spring Festival holiday. According to SCI, the SEBS market price will continue to be firm on cost support.

Read more: http://www.gainshinetpe.com/chinese-sebs-price-surged-on-high-bd-price-and-tight-supply.html

Processing of Thermoplastic Elastomers

The processing of thermoplastic elastomers, TPE is characterized by the fact that the material becomes fluid when heating and then is going back to a solid phase when cooling. Thereby rubber-like products can be manufactured by the use of plastic processing equipment.

Almost all TPE materials are fully compounded by the supplier and delivered as granulate. Therefore no mixing procedure is needed. Neither is curing needed and the scrap can be reprocessed.

These differences lead to lower energy consumption and shorter cycle times for production ofTPE products in comparison with rubber products.

As machinery for thermoplastic materials differs from equipment for rubber materials, new investments normally is required when switching the material for a product from rubber to TPE.

The processes used for thermoplastic elastomers are the following. The two first are the most important.

• Extrusion
  Injection moulding
  Calendering
  Blow moulding
  Melt calendering

How to improve bonding capability between TPE and Nylon?

TPE Overmolding onto Nylon(mainly PA6, PA66 and defibrillators modified nylon engineering plastics) often used in handles of kitchen utensils and electric drill tools, electrical accessories, etc. The hardness of TPE can be adjusted by modified formulation. The hardness range for TPE which overmolding onto nylon: Shore 40A~Shore 80A, the most common hardness is Shore 60A.

Injection moulding machine or two-colour injection machine are often used where Thermoplastic Elastomers is molded onto nylon. Injection moulding machine need two sets of mold, a set of mold for nylon parts injection, another set of mold for tpe overmolding onto nylon, it requires two steps. Two-colour injection machine complete the entire production process in one machine, thus shortening the molding cycle, improving work efficiency.

Manufacturers often encounter poor bonding capability where TPE is molded onto nylon. How to improve the situation?

1.Change formulation and improve the compatibility of tpe with nylon, so as to enhance their adhesion. There is a big gap between the two materials’microscopic molecular polarity. Poor compatibility between them make it difficult for tpe bonded to nylon. We can improve adhesive property between tpe and nylon by introducing a graft material.

2.Provide appropriate tpe injection molding temperature. During processing, it is necessary to make tpe and nylon having a close processing temperature. For example, nylon injection molding temperature is 250 to 260 degrees, then tpe overmolding temperature need to be 240 to 250 degrees, approaching but slightly lower than nylon injection temperature.

3.Preheat nylon parts before overmolding. Heat nylon parts and put them into the injection molding machine before it goes cold, then tpe materials molded onto nylon immediately. Thus can improve the adhesion properties of tpe and nylon.

4.Create better product design. Perforate nylon parts in some inconsequential position or set zigzag groove at the edge of soft cover, by insert molding or increasing the contact area between the TPE and nylon can improve their adhesion.

Know more： http://www.gainshine-tpe.com/news/How-to-improve-bonding-capability-between-TPE-and-Nylon.html

GainShine TPE creates more possibilities to be green

Thermoplastic elastomer compounding group, GainShine TPE, has added new compounds to its Green family of biobased TPEs, creating more opportunities for sustainability.

GainShine Green is a family of thermoplastic elastomer compounds based on raw materials from renewable resources such as plant and vegetable crops. Raw materials can be produced from various renewable sources, these include products and by-products from agricultural that are rich in carbohydrates, especially saccharides such as grain, sugar beet and sugar cane.

GainShine TPE has developed several new customization options for the GainShine TPE compounds. The hardness range has been expanded to include 20 Shore A to 50 Shore D, with amounts of renewable biocontent to more than 90 percent, depending on the hardness.

One of the key challenges we faced with the GainShine Green TPE compounds was to develop low hardnesses with high levels of renewable content, since most biobased raw materials in the market are quite hard on their own. We have now added lower hardnesses to the GainShine Green range while at the same time maintaining mechanical properties.

GainShine TPE has additionally developed compounds using organic fillers and natural fibers from plants, crops or trees, including cork. Cork is a natural product which comes from the bark of the cork oak tree.

The removal of the bark does not harm the trees and the bark is only harvested after the first 20 years of growth. The removal stimulates a steady regeneration of the bark. Each cork tree provides on average 16 harvests over its 150-200 year lifespan.

For customers that want biobased products that also have a natural look and feel, the use of cork and natural fibers helps to give an additional ‘organic’ appearance.

With these new developments to the GainShine Green TPE range, using different renewable content and covering a greater hardness range, we have created more design and sustainability possibilities.

Learn more from: http://www.gainshinetpe.com/gainshine-tpe-creates-more-possibilities-to-be-green.html

Analyst Says Auto Industry To Drive TPE Growth

That rate is higher than that seen in 2013, because “in general, the economy is doing better,” Eller said in a recent interview in Bath. This comeback has been fueled by higher build numbers in the auto market, which accounts for at least half of TPE demand, both in North America and worldwide.

Globally, the largest automotive TPE growth potential is in China and India, where 20 million new vehicles could create 110 million pounds of new thermoplastic elastomer and styrenic block copolymer (SBC) demand from 2011-20, according to Eller, president of Robert Eller Associates L.L.C. in Akron.

In Europe, declining car sales have affected TPE demand negatively. By 2020, the region will be producing 14.7 million vehicles, a level that still would be 8 percent less than the market’s peak 2007 production. This slow comeback has been caused by a decline in consumer appetite for cars, an aging population and Europe’s excellent non-auto transportation system, Eller said.

Global growth markets for TPEs vary by type. For SBCs, growth markets include packaging, auto, electronics, medical and wire and cable. Copolyester growth should come from electronics and bioplastics. The auto sector should provide future growth for TPVs, while thermoplastic polyurethane resins and foam should see improved demand from bioplastics and footwear.

Eller — who presented his most recent TPE outlook at the TPE 2013 conference in Germany in October — cited some potential new applications for TPE materials. Those applications include encapsulation seals for auto rear quarter windows, where TPVs and SBCs could replace PVC and EPDM.

TPVs also could be used in air duct cuffs, where the materials offer heat resistance, ease of processing and adhesion to nylon. TPVs additionally could challenge EPDM in short air ducts, Eller said.

Outside of automotive, SBCs have potential in soft-touch overmolds for closure caps in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Within the TPE sector, Eller explained that SBCs increasingly are competing with TPVs in the auto sector, where TPVs are becoming a commodity.

Longer-term, Eller said that he expects TPE suppliers will increase in both in number and diversity. It also will be more difficult for TPE makers to control their intellectual property. The global TPE market also will see more grades, more competition and more interest in acquisitions.

One such deal already has taken place in 2014, when SBC maker Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. of Houston in January merged with the SBC business of Taiwan-based LCY Chemical Corp. to create a materials firm with annual sales of $2 billion.

Learn more from: http://www.gainshinetpe.com/analyst-says-auto-industry-to-drive-tpe-growth.html