Issue 26/2015 - New EPDM rubber is comparable to natural rubber

Recently, Lanxess has developed Keltan 9565Q, a EPDM rubber with performance comparable to natural rubber, and it is less prone to aging
.
The ultra-high molecular weight of Keltan 9565Q gives it the same high strength and elasticity
as natural rubber.
As a saturated polymer, this new product retains the heat, weather and ozone resistance of EPDM
.
Keltan 9565Q therefore outperforms natural rubber in terms of heat aging resistance, especially in highly dynamic applications
.
In addition, Keltan 9565Q is cheaper
to process than natural rubber.

Through the improved synthesis process, the molecular weight of EPDM rubber products is further increased, and the dynamic properties
similar to natural rubber are realized.
After 168 hours of aging at 100°C and 120°C, Keltan 9565Q achieves better tear resistance and elongation at break than natural rubber, precisely because EPDM has fully saturated molecular chains
.
The compression set of Keltan 9565Q is superior to that of conventional vulcanized natural rubber, at least on par with heat-stable natural rubber (effective vulcanization system
).
In addition to strength, elasticity and aging resistance, fatigue life is also very important
.

New materials from LANXESS bring benefits
even to the machining process.
Compared with natural rubber, EPDM rubber is less prone to vulcanization reduction
because it does not contain double bonds in the molecular chain backbone.
The polymer has a narrow range of specifications, is easy to process, and is more reproducible and consistent
.
At the same time, the synthetic rubber can be processed at higher temperatures, which can greatly increase productivity
.
(Aoshuang)