DSM Elastomers Keltan ACE technology still on track

ERJ staff report (RD)

Heerlen, Netherlands - DSM Elastomers current development of its Keltan ACE (Advanced Catalysis Elastomers) technology is on schedule, the company announced 11 September.

“All engineering activities have now been completed. With construction formally started after a ground breaking ceremony on 24 April 2008, we are on schedule for mechanical completion of the plant by the end of 2008, following a first Keltan ACE production run,” said Herman Dikland, business manager for Keltan ACE.

DSM said that Keltan ACE products will become available in early 2009, adding that, “overall, these products offer an excellent value proposition, by opening new opportunities for cost-effective compounding of Keltan formulations that require peroxide curing.” The company also said that compounds can be loaded to a much higher extent while maintaining material properties, and that, “the balance of physical properties and high temperature resistance can be markedly improved with this new class of Keltan products.”

The new catalyst technology also allows the creation of so-called hyper-branched structures, the company claim, which, according to DSM, creates “highly branched, high molecular weight polymer strands improve compound integrity under high-shear conditions (strain hardening), notably in polymer-rich formulations. This in turn offers improved product appearance at higher extrusion outputs.

The company said the new technology enables the production of a new class of Keltan products, DSM previously invested in the implementation of new catalyst technology last year at its existing EPDM (Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Monomer) facilities in Geleen, Netherlands.

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Press release from DSM Elastomers