Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene market

Automotive appHcations account for about 116,000 t of woddwide consumption aimuaHy, with appHcations for various components including headlamp assembHes, interior instmment panels, bumpers, etc. Many automotive appHcations use blends of polycarbonate with acrylonitrile—butadiene—styrene (ABS) or with poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) (see Acrylonitrile polymers). Both large and smaH appHances also account for large markets for polycarbonate. Consumption is about 54,000 t aimuaHy. Polycarbonate is attractive to use in light appHances, including houseware items and power tools, because of its heat resistance and good electrical properties, combined with superior impact resistance. 

In Table 8.4 we see that most butadiene is polymerized either by itself or with styrene or acrylonitrile. The most important synthetic elastomer is styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). SBR, along with polybutadiene, has its biggest market in automobile tires. Specialty elastomers are polychloroprene and nitrile rubber, and an important plastic is acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) terpolymer. Butadiene is made into adiponitrile, which is converted into hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), on of the monomers for nylon. 

Methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MMBS) types are rarely used as such, but rather in blends as impact modifiers (1). Styr-enic copolymers such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and MMBS make up the largest category of impact modifiers, with about 45% of the impact modifier market (2). The field of polymer blends and the reasons for the addition of impact modifiers have been reviewed (3). 

Fig. 1. US total sales and captive use of selected thermoplastic resins by major market for 2001. Major market volumes are derived from plastic resins sales and captive use data as compiled by VERIS Consulting, LLC and reported by the American Plastics Council s Plastic Industry Producers Statistics Group. Selected thermoplastics are low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, polyvinyl chloride, thermoplastic polyester, engineering resins, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, styrene-acrylonitrile, other styrenics, polystyrene, and styrene butadiene latexes. (Data from ref. 25.)...

ABS resin (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is a widely used terpolymer that accounts for about 8 percent of the butadiene market. 

Characteristic functions and the representative structures of plastics additives providing marketable and durable materials are included in this chapter. Types of additives for plastics used in contact with food are listed in Table 3-1. Similar additives as for PS are used for elastomer-modified plastics forming multilayer systems (blends) and used rather exceptionally in contact with food, such as high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS). Some of the additives, stabilizers in particular, are very reactive and are present in the plastic matrix in a chemically transformed form. 

In both Europe and the United States, aluminum trihydrate, or ATH [Al(OH)3)], has by far the largest share of the mineral flame-retardant market however, magnesium hydroxide presently has the highest growth rate. To date, most of the research using magnesium hydroxide has focused on thermoplastics, including ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polypropylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer, and modified polyphenylene oxide (Hornsby and Watson, 1986). 

Thermoplastic polyurethanes and polyester/polyethers are polar materials thus, their use in polymer blending usually is limited to blends with other polar polymers such as PVC, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), and polyesters. However, at this time polymer blending is a fairly small market for these polymers. 

The other important diol which finds wide application in synthesis of flame retardant epoxy thermosets is 4,4 -isopropylidene bis(2,6-dibromo-phenol) (tetrabromobisphenol-A,TBPA).The primary use of TBPA is as a reactive flame retardant in epoxy resin-based circuit boards and in electronic enclosures made of polycarbonate-acrylonitrile, butadiene-styrene, etc. Hexafluorobisphenol-A (bisphenol-AF, hexafluoroisopropylidene diphenol) has also been used for the synthesis of fluorinated epoxy resin aiming at the anticorrosion coatings market for industrial vessels and pipes. The key disadvantages of fluorinated epoxies are their relatively high costs and low Tg, which limit their commercialisation. Thus utilisation of such diols in vegetable oil-based epoxy resins may result in similar performance. 

Today the pipe applications of PVC, PE and PP have become a major consideration in the global consumption of polymeric materials. By comparison, other polymers that were market contenders for pipe products developed little and now consume small tonnages in what may be regarded as specialist applications. Nevertheless piping may still constitute an important market for these other plastics in relation to their total consumption. For instance extrusion of pipe is significant in the markets for polybutadiene (PB), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). 

Figure 1 Cost-related (specific) flexural strength of major thermoplastics, versus cost-related (specific) thermal tolerance. The unit cost is the market price in US cents (1992) of 1 cm plastics. The thermal tolerance is the temperature difference (AT) over room temperature (AT — T - room T), by which temperature (7 ) the flexural modulus is equal to 1 GPa. Designations, abbreviations WFRP-S, wood fiber reinforced PP (S type) of AECL, Canada (See Table 1) PMMA, polymethylmethacrylate PVC, pol)winyl chloride PS, polystyrene PP, polypropylene UP, unsaturated polyesters PA-GF, glass fiber (35%) reinforced polyamide PHR, phenolic resin EP, epoxy resin ABS, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene copolymer UF, urea/formaldehyde LDPE, low density polyethylene PC, polycarbonate POM, polyoxymethylene CAB, cellulose acetate butyrate LCP, liquid crystal polymers PEEK, polyether-etherketone PTFE, polytetrafluorethylene.

The major types of impact modifiers are acrylics, styrenics including methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBS) copolymers and Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Polymers, chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), EVA copolymers, and the ethylene-propylene copolymers and terpolymers (EPR and EPDM respectively). The major market for impact modifiers is in PVC, although they are used in a wide range of other polymers such as polyolefins and engineering polymers. 

Polymer blends as products have been the result of billions of dollars of research and technology development expenditures. By 1982, the per annum worldwide sales of polyphenylene/polystyrene exceeded US 1 billion. Polyvinyl chloride/ acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) blends have captured the markets worldwide. Compatibilized nylon/ABS blends appeared on the market and were sold under the name Triax 1000 by Monsanto with step-change improvement in product performance properties. 

Highly filled reformulated versions of thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and polycarbonate (PC)/ABS blends are found in bumper applications around the world. Today, TPO dominates this market worldwide. Other than these polymers and blends, thermosets often enter into this market as reaction-injection-molded (RIM) products. 

The main markets for the dispersions are paints and coatings (26%), paper coating (23%), adhesives (22%), and carpet backing (11%) [2], They are also used in such niche applications as diagnosis, drug delivery, and treatment [3], The main dry products are styrene-butadiene rubber for tires, nitrile rubber, about 10% of the PVC production, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and redispersable powders for construction materials. 

The development of new polymer alloys has caused a lot of excitement in recent years but in fact the concept has been around for a long time. Indeed one of the major commercial successes of today, ABS, is in fact an alloy of acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. The principle of alloying plastics is similar to that of alloying metals - to achieve in one material the advantages possessed by several others. The recent increased interest and activity in the field of polymer alloys has occurred as a result of several new factors. One is the development of more sophisticated techniques for combining plastics which were previously considered to be incompatible. Another is the keen competition for a share of new market areas such as automobile bumpers, body panels etc. These applications call for combinations of properties not previously available in a single plastic and it has been found that it is less expensive to combine existing plastics than to develop a new monomer on which to base the new plastic. 

Styrene-butadiene rubber latex (SBR, GRS) and acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber latex (NBR) are two of the earliest to arrive on the market. Since then, many other types have appeared, with poly(vinyl acetate) and copolymers, acrylics (generally polymers and copolymers of the esters of acrylic acid and methacrylic acids), and carboxylic-SBR types being the major products. Since latices are aqueous emulsions, less... 

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