Daploy HMS PP extruded foam parts

Amidst the growing uneasiness in rising fuel prices, most governments today have taken a stern view on energy and resource efficiency that will lead to tougher measures to improve our use and consumption of natural resources. The fuel crisis has heightened both public and private sector awareness of the need to adopt resource-efficient practices which will curb our consumption of natural resources without sacrificing the level of comfort in our daily lifestyles.

The current European Union 5th environmental action plan is an example of how governments have begun to implement a stronger stance on resource related issues. The plan calls for more recycling solutions to be implemented in the automotive industry, with targets of 75% of car parts to be recycled. Should Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) fail in reaching the target, heavy fines will be imposed as a means to push industry to operate more environmentally conscious.

The action plan also includes an end-of-lifecycle directive which advocates solutions that are easy to dismantle, re-use, and / or recycle. As this recycling craze gains in political momentum, the automotive industry will need to be particularly adept in choosing the appropriate materials that are used in automotive parts and components.

Mono-material based automotive parts to drive the change

With time, we can only expect that this recycling trend will even more lead to mono-material based solutions, which provide the primary benefit of easy recycability. While the automotive industry has widely accepted polypropylene (PP) based car parts, including bumpers, door cladding and body panels, additional use of PP in the car’s foam structures, such as roof panels, water shields and noise absorbing parts, is further increasing the materials that are recyclable in vehicles.

Using foams in high end applications such as automotive parts requires the material to offer outstanding insulation properties (thermal and sound insulation), without sacrificing the lightweight-ness of the end part. These foams should also be long-lasting, recyclable solutions in order to help car manufacturers better achieve the targets of the EU 5th environmental action plan.

For the extruded PP foam market, Borealis has developed Daploy^TM HMS PP grades. These long chain branched PP products show the right balance of high melt strength in combination with good extensibility, which is required especially in extruded low density foam applications.

The main properties of Daploy^TM HMS PP grades for extruded foams include:

• Easy to recycle
• Easy to process
• Fine, even cell structure
• Smooth foam surface
• Good insulation properties 
• Chemical resistance
• Non hydroscopic solution
• High temperature resistance (even without cross linking)

From our dedicated Daploy^TM HMS PP grade range, customers can select the most suitable product according to their end-application requirements:

• Daploy^TM WB130HMS and WB135HMS: PP Homopolymer based product especially designed for low density extruded foams (densities 45 – 90kg/m³) with good surface quality.
• Daploy^TM WB260HMS: PP Copolymer based product especially designed for “soft” extruded foam applications.
• Daploy^TMWB140HMS: PP Homopolymer based product which represents the next generation of Daploy^TM HMS PP products for low density extruded foams.