Thermoplastic elastomers can be categorized into two types: general-purpose TPE and engineering TPE, which have now developed into 10 major categories and over 30 varieties. Industrially produced TPEs worldwide include: styrenic (SBS, SIS, SEBS, SEPS), olefinic (TP0, TPV), diene (TPB, TPI), chlorinated vinyl (TPVC, TCPE), polyurethane (TPU), ester (TPEE), amide (TPAE), organofluorine (TPF), organosilicon, and ethylene types, essentially covering all fields of synthetic rubber and synthetic resin. This is the variety of thermoplastic elastomers.
Advantages of Thermoplastic Elastomers:
(1) Can be processed on general thermoplastic molding machines, such as injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, compression molding, and die casting molding, etc.
(2) The vulcanization process using the rubber injection molding machine can now be shortened from approximately 20 minutes to under 1 minute.
(3) The extruder can be used for molding and vulcanization, offering fast extrusion speed and short vulcanization time.
(4) Waste materials generated during the production process (such as excess edges and wasted rubber) and defective products can be returned directly for reuse.
(5) Used TPE products can be easily recycled and reused, reducing environmental pollution and expanding the sources of resource recycling.
(6) Without vulcanization, energy-saving is achieved; taking the energy consumption of high-pressure hoses as an example: rubber is 188MJ/kg, TPE is 144MJ/kg, which can save over 25% of energy.
(7) Enhanced self-reinforcement, significantly simplified formulation, greatly reducing the influence and restriction of the additive on the polymer, making quality and performance more easily controlled.
Expanding the application fields of rubber products, paving new ways for the rubber industry.
Disadvantages of thermoplastic elastomers:
TPE's heat resistance is inferior to rubber, with a significant drop in properties as temperature rises, thus limiting its application range. Additionally, it compares poorly with rubber in terms of compression deformation, elasticity, durability, and price.
TPE often outperforms similar rubbers. However, overall, the advantages of TPE remain prominent, while its drawbacks are continuously being improved. As a new, energy-saving and environmentally friendly rubber material, its development prospects are very promising.
