MOSCOW (MRC) -- Specialty chemicals company Lanxess provides its innovative bio-based Keltan Eco EPDM rubber to Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, as per the company's press release.
This well-known global manufacturer of seals and vibration control technology products recently started to produce rubber seals made of Keltan Eco EPDM at its North American affiliate.
Keltan Eco EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) rubber contains up to 70 percent of ethylene obtained from sugarcane, and has an impressive set of properties that is in no way inferior to that of "conventional" EPDM. The bio-renewable rubber compound, for which development at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies already began in 2012, addresses the constantly increasing standards on CO2 footprint reduction, especially in the automotive industry, and the overall global pull for more sustainable industrial solutions.
Christian Widdershoven, Head of the business line Keltan Elastomers within Lanxess’ High Performance Elastomers business unit, says: "Besides the well-recognized technical performance of Keltan EPDM polymers, Keltan Eco EPDM reduces our dependency on fossil resources and, because it is obtained from renewable sugarcane, has a significantly better CO2 footprint than petroleum-based polymers."
Applications for the rubber compound based on Keltan Eco polymers include seals for coolants, steam, synthetic hydraulic fluids, brake fluids and aerospace hydraulic fluids.
As MRC wrote previously, in October 2014, Lanxess introduced the newly commercialized, ultra-high molecular weight EPDM grade Keltan 9565Q, which Lanxess believes will successfully replace natural rubber in dynamic applications.
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies is the Americas joint venture between Freudenberg and Co. in Germany and NOK Corp. in Japan. Freudenberg-NOK is a leading producer of advanced sealing technologies for a variety of markets including: aerospace; agriculture; appliance; automotive; construction; diesel engine; energy; food and beverage; heavy industry; and pharmaceutical. Founded in 1989 under the legal name Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, Freudenberg-NOK is headquartered in Plymouth, Mich. and operates more than 20 facilities across the Americas.
Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.0 billion in 2014 and about 16,300 employees in 29 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC