Energy Savings with Hot Casting/Cold Curing PU System

Hot Cast/Cold Cure PU System Delivers Energy Savings LANXESS has developed a hot cast and cold cure system for PU cast elastomers. This new technology allows a Vibrathane MDI ether prepolymer to be cured with a new Vibracure curing agent at room temperature, providing ease of use, energy savings, EH&S improvements and, last but not least, significant reduction in CO₂ emissions.

Ease of Use and Improved EH&S Combined

Since the new Vibrathane & Vibracure system cures at ambient temperature, processors can shut down hot tables or ovens, significantly reducing burn risk associated with hot surfaces and thus increasing operator safety. The new MDI ether-based prepolymer also facilitates production of larger and more complex parts, such as mining pipe lines, where curing is always challenging and equipment utilization limits productivity.

Significant Energy Savings

Energy consumption has always attracted the attention of polyurethane processors, as it constitutes a significant portion of total production costs. Depending on polyurethane facility setup, this system can deliver savings of between 40 and 50% in total energy consumption.

Focus on Sustainability

The new Vibrathane & Vibracure hot cast/cold cure system is one of the company's latest initiatives to help the PU industry improve its carbon footprint. Gerald King, Head of Urethane Systems EMEA Application Technology at LANXESS, states: "Sustainability has increasingly become a focal point over the past decade, and by delivering net energy savings, with this new development we are offering our customers a more sustainable product and thus contributing to climate protection."

Fully Flexible for a Wide Range of Elastomers

The 3K system can be processed with a counter-mix machine or by hand. It is chemically designed to provide PU processors with complete flexibility in producing a wide variety of elastomers from a single prepolymer, achieving a hardness range between 60 A and 55 D. The cold cure system demonstrates performance equivalent to hot curing in final elastomer properties. LANXESS's new development addresses a significant concern of PU processors regarding ease of processing, cost savings and time efficiency, while supporting the industry's sustainability targets. For more information on LANXESS polyurethane products for the PU industry, visit https://ure.lanxess.com. Source