Flame retardant flooring made of Levapren®
Achieving the perfect grip
Blends of nitrile rubber and Levapren® are soft, elastic and halogen-free. This makes them the ideal material for applications such as foamed insulating materials, gym mats and dumbbell grips. Other possible uses include industrial heat insulation hoses, hose sheathing, cable sheathing, floor coverings and seals. The possibilities for this halogen-free material are truly enormous.
Previously, the above-mentioned products were often manufactured from blends of nitrile rubber and PVC. However, this conventional material has one significant drawback: It is not halogen-free. Moreover, in certain cases, complex manufacturing methods are required which could result in quality-related problems.
This is where Levapren® comes into play. This rubber family is an ideal alternative to PVC for the "traditional" NBR blends and considerably extends the range of applications for NBR blends. Since the elasticity of the blend depends on the VA content of the grade of Levapren® used, the elasticity of the product can be adapted precisely to the requirements of the user. For example, formulations with a VA content of 50 percent are highly elastic, while high VA contents (90 percent) lead to a good shock absorbing effect. The strength and elongation of NBR/EVM blends with Levapren® VPKA 8939 (90 percent VA content) are comparable with conventional NBR/PVC blends.
These versatile mixtures are naturally weather- and swell-resistant in non-polar media. With suitable compounding, they also exhibit good flame retardance. What's more, sulfur-crosslinked NBR/EVM test specimens are softer and more elastic that those made from "conventional" NBR/PVC and are much more like rubber. As a result, they also offer improved quality. Since the grip is generally found to be more pleasant due to the glass temperature being lower for the Levapren® components than for PVC, and the NBR/EVM vulcanizates having a significantly lower hardness than NBR blends which contain PVC. Moreover, due to the fact that the EVM blend can be produced in a one-step process, many of the sources of error encountered in the "traditional" two-step processing method are eliminated. Fine microporous foams can also be produced without any problems. Levapren® offers optimal grip for all applications.
LANXESS Links
