Ethylene-propylene rubbers properties

Polypropylene polymers are typically modified with ethylene to obtain desirable properties for specific applications. Specifically, ethylene—propylene mbbers are introduced as a discrete phase in heterophasic copolymers to improve toughness and low temperature impact resistance (see Elastomers, ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE rubber). This is done by sequential polymerisation of homopolymer polypropylene and ethylene—propylene mbber in a multistage reactor process or by the extmsion compounding of ethylene—propylene mbber with a homopolymer. Addition of high density polyethylene, by polymerisation or compounding, is sometimes used to reduce stress whitening. In all cases, a superior balance of properties is obtained when the sise of the discrete mbber phase is approximately one micrometer. Examples of these polymers and their properties are shown in Table 2. Mineral fillers, such as talc or calcium carbonate, can be added to polypropylene to increase stiffness and high temperature properties, as shown in Table 3. 

The use of ABS has in recent years met considerable competition on two fronts, particularly in automotive applications. For lower cost applications, where demands of finish and heat resistance are not too severe, blends of polypropylene and ethylene-propylene rubbers have found application (see Chapters 11 and 31). On the other hand, where enhanced heat resistance and surface hardness are required in conjunction with excellent impact properties, polycarbonate-ABS alloys (see Section 20.8) have found many applications. These materials have also replaced ABS in a number of electrical fittings and housings for business and domestic applications. Where improved heat distortion temperature and good electrical insulation properties (including tracking resistance) are important, then ABS may be replaced by poly(butylene terephthalate). 

Greco et al. [50] studied the effect of the reactive compatibilization technique in ethylene propylene rubber-polyamide-6 blends. Binary blends of polyamide-6-ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) and a ternary blend of polyamide-6-EPR-EPR-g-succinic anhydride were prepared by the melt mixing technique, and the influence of the degree of grafting of (EPR-g-SA) on morphology and mechanical properties of the blends was studied. 

Hong, B. K. and Jo, W. H. (2000) Effects of molecular weight of SEBS triblock copolymer on the morphology, impact strength, and rheological property of syndiotactic polystyrene/ ethylene-propylene rubber blends. Polymer, 41, 2069-2079. 

A convenient term for any material possessing the properties of a rubber but produced from other than natural sources. A synthetic version of natural rubber has been available for many years with the same chemical formula, i.e., cis-1,4-polyisoprene, but it has not displaced the natural form. See also Butyl Rubber, Chloroprene Rubber, Ethylene-Propylene Rubber, Nitrile Rubber, Silicone Rubber and Styrene-Butadiene Rubber. 

The static and dynamic mechanical properties, creep recovery behaviour, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity of low-density foams made of blends of LDPE and EVA were studied as a function of the EVA content of the blends. These properties were compared with those of a foam made from a blend of EVA and ethylene-propylene rubber. A knowledge of the way in which the EVA content affects the behaviour of these blend foam materials is fundamental to obtaining a wide range of polyolefin foams, with similar density, suitable for different applications. 9 refs. 

PVC, another widely used polymer for wire and cable insulation, crosslinks under irradiation in an inert atmosphere. When irradiated in air, scission predominates.To make cross-linking dominant, multifunctional monomers, such as trifunctional acrylates and methacrylates, must be added. Fluoropolymers, such as copol5miers of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), are widely used in wire and cable insulations. They are relatively easy to process and have excellent chemical and thermal resistance, but tend to creep, crack, and possess low mechanical stress at temperatures near their melting points. Radiation has been found to improve their mechanical properties and crack resistance. Ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) has also been used for wire and cable insulation. When blended with thermoplastic polyefins, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), its processibility improves significantly. The typical addition of LDPE is 10%. Ethylene propylene copolymers and terpolymers with high PE content can be cross-linked by irradiation. ... 

In rubber-plastic blends, clay reportedly disrupted the ordered crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and had a key role in shaping the distribution of iPP and ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) phases larger filler contents brought about smaller, less coalesced and more homogeneous rubber domains [22]. Clays, by virtue of their selective residence in the continuous phase and not in the rubber domains, exhibited a significant effect on mechanical properties by controlling the size of rubber domains in the heterophasic matrix. This resulted in nanocomposites with increased stiffness, impact strength, and thermal stability. 

After an iPP particle reached the FBR, co-polymerization of ethylene-propylene starts preferrably inside the porous PP matrix. Depending on the individual residence time, the particle will be filled with a certain amount of ethylene-propylene rubber, EPR, that improves the impact properties of the HIPP. It is important to keep the sticky EPR inside the preformed iPP matrix to avoid particle agglomeration that could lead to wall sheeting and termination of the reactor operation. Ideally a "two phase" structure, see Fig.5.4-3, is produced. Finally, a "super-high impact" PP results that contains up to 70% EPR. How much EPR is formed per particle depends on three factors catalyst activity in the FBR, individual particle porosity, and individual particle residence time in the FBR. All particle properties are therefore influenced by the residence time distribution, and finally, a mix of particles with different relative amounts of EPR is produced - a so called "chemical distribution" see, for example, [6]. 

Polypropylene polymers are typically modified with ethylene to obtain desirable properties for specific applications. Specifically, ethylene-propylene rubbers are introduced as a discrete phase in heterophasic copolymers to improve toughness and low temperature impact resistance. 

Sequence distribution studies on several types of rubber by 13C-NMR technique have been reported. Some of the more recent reports include silicone rubbers [28-30], SBR [31], acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) [32,33], polyurethane [34,35], polyepichlorohydrin [36], ethylene-norbonene [37] and ethylene-propylene rubber [4, 16, 25, 38-44]. The NMR studies on EPDM have been carried out extensively, because it is one of the important parameters, which control the physical properties of the elastomer. For example, ethylene sequence can influence the crystallisation kinetic and melting behaviour of the rubber [38]. 

The major general purpose rubbers are natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, and ethylene-propylene rubber. These rubbers are used in tires, mechanical goods, and similar applications. Specialty elastomers provide unique properties such as oil resistance or extreme heat stability. Although this differentiation is rather arbitrary, it tends also to classify the polymers according to volumes used. Styrene-butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, and ethylene-propylene rubber account for 78 percent of all synthetic rubber consumed. 

Many of the commercial synthetic elastomers are synthesized from more than one monomer, such as styrene-butadiene and ethylene-propylene rubbers. The properties of the resultant polymer depend on the ratio of the two monomers in the polymer and upon the distribution of the monomers within the chain. 

Crystallinity can be reduced by disruption of the order in the chain by copolymerization.14 For example, both polyethylene and polypropylene are crystalline plastics, whereas ethylene-propylene rubber produced at about a 50 50 ratio is an amorphous elastomer. Compositional excursions much outside this range lead to crystalline materials.15 For some materials, such as natural rubber, that are close to crystallizing, stretching the chains can align them sufficiently for crystallization to occur. Such polymers can exhibit excellent gum properties and improved strength in the uncured state that greatly facilitate processing. 

Also compatibilizers can be applied for two-phase systems in order to reduce the phase size and improve the properties. This method has been successfully applied in an EPDM-silicone system using a silane grafted ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) [5]. However, the combination possibilities of poly(organosiloxane)s with thermoplastics and elastomers are still limited to special systems. 

When ethylene is copolymerized with substantial amounts (>25%) of propylene an elastomeric copolymer is produced, commonly known as ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) or ethylene-propylene monomer (EPM) rubber. When a diene, such as dicyclopentadiene, is also included, a terpolymer known as ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) rubber is obtained. EPR and EPDM are produced with single site and Ziegler-Natta catalysts and are important in the automotive and construction industries. However, EPR and EPDM are produced in much smaller quantities relative to polyethylene. Elastomers display vastly different properties than other versions of industrial polyethylene and are considered outside the purview of this text. EPR and EPDM will not be discussed further. 

Blends of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoic acid)s (PHAs) with various natural and synthetic polymers have been reported as reviewed in Refs. [21,22]. By blending with synthetic polymers it is expected to control the biodegradability, to improve several properties, and to reduce the production cost of bacterially synthesized PHAs. The polymers investigated as the blending partners of PHAs include poly(ethylene oxide) [92, 93], poly(vinyl acetate) [94], poly(vinylidene fluoride) [95], ethylene propylene rubber [94, 96], po-ly(epichlorohydrin) [97, 98], poly(e-caprolactone) [99], aliphatic copolyesters of adipic acid/ethylene glycole/lactic acid [100] and of e-caprolactone/lactide... 

The main types of rubber used in the field of anti-corrosion are natural rubber, polyisoprene, polybutadiene, polyurethane, butyl rubber, styrene butadiene, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, polychloroprene, silicone rubber, and vinylidene rubber. The wide ranges of available natural and synthetic rubbers offer a versatility of properties to suit almost every corrosive condition encountered in the process industries. 

The term elastomer is the most appropriate technical term for rubber, and is generally applied to synthetic rubbers, e.g. ethylene propylene rubber. It derives its name from the well-known elastic property of rubber. 

However some non-rubber compounds are also called elastomers if they exhibit a nondeforming elastic property similar to rubber at room temperature, even if the compound is relatively hard. The two main groups of non-rubber elastomers are thermoplastics, e.g., polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and thermosets, e.g., ethylene propylene rubber, cross-linked polyethylene. These two groups are also covered by the term plastic . 

The early synthetic rubbers were diene polymers such as poly butadiene. Diene elastomers possess a considerable degree of unsaturation, some of which provide the sites required for the light amount of cross-linking structurally necessary for elastomeric properties. The residual double bonds make diene elastomers vulnerable to oxidative and ozone attack. To overcome this problem, saturated elastomers like butyl rubber and ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) were developed. These rubbers were, unfortunately, not readily vulcanized by conventional means. To enhance cure, it was therefore necessary to... 

Hasegawa, N., Okamoto, H., and Usuki, A., Preparation and properties of ethylene propylene rubber (EPR)-clay nanocomposites based on maleic anhydride-modifled EPR and organophilic clay, J. Appl. Polym. ScL, 93, 758-764 (2004). 

Ethylene-propylene rubbers are the important class of elastomers and are widely used in many branches of industry due to their unique properties, in particular good stability to environmental effects, good physical-chemical and elastic characteristics, chemical and ozone-stability, radiation, oils, acids and alkalis stability, etc. [78,79,176,207,253]. 

Ethylene-propylene rubber possesses many properties superior to those of natural rubber and conventional general-purpose elastomers. In some applications, it will perform better than other materials, whereas in other applications, it will last longer or require less maintenance and may even cost less. 

Ethylene-propylene rubber is particularly resistant to sun, weather, and ozone attack. Excellent weather resistance is obtained whether the material is formulated in color, white, or black. The elastomer remains free of surface crazing and retains a high percentage of its properties after years of exposure. Ozone resistance is inherent in the polymer, and for all practical purposes, it can be considered immune to ozone attack. It is not necessary to add any special compounding ingredients to produce this resistance. 

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