- Keltan 13561C DE very high molecular weight EPDM grade further developed
- Ultra-high-molecular Keltan 9565Q offers benefits of natural rubber and high heat performance
- ARLANXEO at the DKT in Nuremberg, July 2-5 2018: Hall 12, Booth 506​​​​​​​

Geleen / Nuremberg – ARLANXEO, a global leader in performance elastomers, will highlight the benefits of its recently introduced Keltan 13561C and outline the ongoing development of very high molecular weight ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM).

Since the introduction of Keltan 13561C DE, a semi-crystalline EPDM grade with a very high Mooney viscosity for demanding rubber applications in 2017, ARLANXEO pushed the further development of this grade.

“This first Keltan grade with five digits is ideally suited for automotive seals and waste water seal compounds. In addition, with the new Keltan grade we extended our application areas into coolant hoses and microdense profiles,” says Niels van der Aar, Business Development Manager EPDM/NBR at ARLANXEO.

This high-molecular Keltan grade is manufactured at the company’s EPDM plant in Changzhou, China, using Keltan ACE polymerization technology. ARLANXEO has extended its capabilities and is now investigating the production of this new Keltan grade at the company’s sites in Geleen, Netherlands and Orange, USA, locations, using different technologies, depending on customer needs.

In addition to Keltan 13561C DE, ARLANXEO also introduces its recent findings of the study into the use of ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) and natural rubber (NR) blends in order to meet rising temperature requirements.

“Having identified a need in the mechanical engineering and automotive industries for rubber that can withstand high operating temperatures for long periods, we developed a compound with exceptionally high molecular weight, which gives synthetic rubber its extremely high NR type strength and resilience,” explains van der Aar. “The material, ultrahigh-molecular Keltan 9565Q, delivers a performance that is superior to natural rubber in terms of heat aging and benefits highly dynamic applications. This Keltan grade opens up new potential for more economical EPDM processing compared with NR.”

For components subject to high stresses such as damping elements, natural rubber is considered to be almost indispensable. However, vulcanized natural rubber will form cracks and become brittle in the medium term when exposed to heat. ARLANXEO scientists have been able to improve synthesis to further increase the molecular weight of EPDM. When compounds based on Keltan 9565Q are modified, fatigue life can be strongly improved to attain the same level as a heat stabilized NR compound. 

During DKT 2018, ARLANXEO will host keynote presentations:​​​​​​​

New Compounding Concepts based on Ultra-high Molecular Weight EPDM
by Martin van Duin (Sp), Gosé van Zandvoort and Montse Alvarez Grima.
This presentation will be given on Monday July 2, at 16.00 hrs.
Location: Room “Paris”

Morphology and Micromechanics of Nano-dispersed RubberBlends
by John Beelen (Sp), Christoph Gögelein, Martin van Duin and Niels van der Aar.
This presentation will be given on Wednesday July 3, at 09.00 hrs.
Location: Room “Paris”

​​​​About ARLANXEO
​​​​​​​
ARLANXEO is a leading global provider of synthetic rubbers. It achieved a turnover of around €3.2 billion in 2017, has approximately 3,800 employees, and operates 20 production sites in nine countries. The company specializes in the development, production and sale of high-performance rubbers, which are used in industries such as the automotive and tire industry, construction, and the oil and gas industries. ARLANXEO was founded in April 2016 as a joint venture of LANXESS and Saudi Aramco.