MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, is launching its first range of liquid thermoplastic resins under the brand Elium, which is transformed using the same processes as composite thermosets, said the producer in its press-release.
The exciting new technology won an award in 2013 at JEC and is being used in 2014 because it is lightweight, cost-effective and recyclable. Elium resins polymerize quickly and can be used to design structural parts as well as aesthetic elements in a number of applications anywhere from the automotive and transportation industries to wind power, athletic equipment and the building sector.
Elium is it an easy resin to use for lightweight and resilient composite parts. Composite parts made from Elium are 30-50% lighter than the same parts made from steel, but offer the same resistance. When combined with Arkema Luperox peroxide initiators, Elium can be molded into complex design forms for composite parts and perfectly blends with glass or carbon fibers. As a bonus, it is also compatible with conventional thermosetting resin transformation technologies, which cuts down the costs of transformers.
In addition to the Elium range, Arkema is developing a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) called Kepstan to replace metal in extreme conditions (offshore, aviation), the Rilsan range, a high-performance powdered or granulated polyamide that is 100% bio-sourced and makes thermoset composites resistant to abrasion and shock at very high or low temperatures.
As MRC wrote before, Arkema officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform. The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.
Arkema is a global industrial and speciality chemical company made up of three business segments; Vinyl Products, Industrial Chemicals and Performance Products. It is present in over 40 countries with 14,000 employees and sales of more than EUR6bn.
MRC