Halogen Free Flame Retardant (HFFR) Compounding with EVM and EVM/HNBR

The need for more environmentally friendly products is driven by manufacturer initiatives and corresponding legislative directives. The focus is to ban identified substances that could be hazardous to the environment or restrict their use in certain products. The first reason to choose halogen-free elastomers like EVM or HNBR is the fire safety performance. Standard elastomeric/thermoplastic materials like PVC have the potential to release corrosive and toxic gases if ignited in a fire. As a result these gases may lead to the damage of electronics wherever the smoke travels. And even worse, they can be hazardous to persons if they are not able to easily evacuate from the area – either because of the toxicity or the lack of orientation due to the smoke density. Beyond improved fire safety performance EVM and HNBR provide a unique combination of properties in a broad temperature range for continuous use (if properly compounded: -50 to 160°C). Both polymers are halogen free and feature extremely good oil-and media- as well as ozone- and UV-light-resistance. This study shows, how performance elastomers such as EVM and HNBR may be compounded to achieve halogen free, flame retardant materials, which meet the rigid demands of target markets such as oil & gas exploration, renewable energies, railway transportation or automotive.