Keltan®
Mainly used in the automotive industry, Keltan®, ARLANEXO's brand of EPDM products, maintains its superior properties even after exposure to high temperatures.
Ethylene Propylene Diene Rubber
EPDM is typically used in outdoor applications and at elevated temperatures of up to 150 °C. It's used in both automotive and industrial applications such as automotive sealing systems, coolant hoses, windshield wipers, oil additives, roof sheeting, window gaskets, conveyor belts, as well as wire and cable insulation. EPDM rubbers are part of ARLANXEO’s Keltan® brand family.
A heat stable material solution for increasing temperatures
Heat-stable materials are increasingly in demand. EPDM rubber (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber), a synthetic rubber used in many applications, can be formulated to temperatures as high as 150°C.
EPDM offers excellent resistance to environmental factors such as ozone, UV and general weathering. So, it is commonly used in outdoor applications and at elevated temperatures within the automotive and construction industries. EPDM is made from ethylene, propylene, and a diene comonomer that enables crosslinking via sulphur or peroxide vulcanization.
Keltan® is the tradename of ARLANXEO’s EPDM products. Their heat-stable properties make them ideal for under the hood components in cars, where EPDM is rapidly overtaking conventional NR solutions. As a durable elastomer, EPDM is an excellent insulator and offers great conformability and impermeability.
Covering a wide range of applications
As a global component design leader in the automotive industry, common application uses for EPDM are car doors, sealing systems, cooling hoses, wire and cable insulation, windshield wipers, engine mount, brake parts and roof sheeting. Its usage extends to tires and tubes as well, where EPDM is relied upon for tire curing bladder and envelopes, inner-tubes and sidewalls.
Other more general consumer goods applications include washing machine bull eyes, water hoses and dishwashing machine door seals. Within the building and construction segment, EPDM material is found in water-proof roof and pond sheetings, window gaskets and a variety of other applications.
The industrial market segment comprises very diverse applications, ranging from solar panel tubing, tunnel seals, public transport seals, transmission and transport belts via roll covers in the printing and paper industry to solid and foamed railway pads.
These applications and more are supported by a broad portfolio providing the basis for compound solutions. Keltan® EPDM products appear as white bales, witnessing the absence of catalyst residues. All oil-extended Keltan® EPDM products use a clean paraffinic oil, carefully selected to be suitable over a broad range of service temperatures and to have outstanding UV resistance and color stability.
An ECO-friendly option
Driven by sustainable innovation we developed Keltan® ECO, the world’s first commercial EPDM produced in Brazil from bio-based feedstock. The ethylene used in this process is derived from ethanol produced from sugarcane.
The Keltan®ECO grades have exactly the same specifications as their conventional counterparts, they are “drop-in” equivalents with one important difference: up to 70% of the content is bio-based! Thus, they offer an environmentally friendly alternative for any type of EPDM application.
Today these new bio-based EPDM grades are commercially applied in applications, such as low-weight, micro porous automotive solid seals and recyclable applications.
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