Benefits of F40P-SP2 and MBM to Cure CPE cable jacket
The benefits of using SP2 technology are shown in Table 3 by comparison to a ‘control’ formulation prepared using Dow Chemical TyrinÒ CM0136 CPE blended with F40KE peroxide and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA), a crosslinking coagent. In order to increase crosslinked CPE cable productivity, one must simultaneously increase the extruder screw speed and the speed of the CPE crosslinking reaction without changing the cure temperature. CPE cable is cured in a CV (continuous vulcanization) steam tube of fixed length and internal temperature. To accomplish these increased speeds, greater scorch protection is needed in the extruder due to the faster screw RPM, while modified CPE formulations provide a faster cure without changing temperatures. In Table 3, run 1, the data shows that these objectives can be accomplished by using the F40P-SP2 peroxide to increase scorch protection, and the CPE cure speed is increased by replacing TMPTMA with N,N’-(m-phenylene)bismaleimide (MBM), a more reactive and “scorchier” coagent[i]. The CPE tc90 cure time was decreased by 47% from 4.3 to 2.3 minutes due to the MBM coagent, which meant almost doubled productivity without changing the cure temperature. Employing SP2 technology, F40P-SP2 increased the ts1 scorch time from 7.2 minutes to 47.8 minutes, a six-fold increase in scorch time protection for the 130°C CPE extrusion step. Please refer to Figures 2 and 3, and Table 3 for a comparison of F40KE and F40P-SP2 in CPE. In summary, the blend of F40P-SP2 peroxide and MBM for crosslinking CPE provides a way to safely increase extruder screw speed without fear of scorch, while doubling productivity by reducing the cure time by 50% without increasing the cure temperature. [i] Work performed by our colleague Arnaud Prebe while working at the Arkema Inc. KoP site. Mr. Prebe is now working for Arkema Inc. at the CRRA in Lyon, France.
Table 3
Crosslinking CPE with F40P-SP2 and Coagents for Cable Jacket
| |
Control |
Run 1 |
Run 2 |
| CPE |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| N-550 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
| DIDP |
30 |
30 |
30 |
| CaCO3 |
125 |
125 |
125 |
| MgO |
5 |
5 |
5 |
| TMPTMA |
2 |
- |
- |
| MBM |
- |
3 |
- |
| TAC |
- |
- |
1.5 |
| F40KE |
6 |
- |
- |
| F40P-SP2 |
- |
6 |
4 |
| Curing CPE in an MDR @180C, 1° arc |
| MH (dN-m) |
33.1 |
32.4 |
35.5 |
| ML (dN-m) |
4.7 |
4.0 |
3.7 |
| MH - ML (dN-m) |
28.4 |
28.4 |
31.8 |
| ts2 (minutes) |
.5 |
.5 |
.3 |
|
|
|
|
| tc90(minutes) |
4.3 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
| Decrease in tc90 |
--- |
47% |
18% |
| Extruding CPE / Mixing CPE: MDR@130°C, 1°arc |
| ts0.4 (minutes) |
7 |
41 |
35 |
| ts1 (minutes) |
7 |
48 |
44.6 |
| ts2 (minutes) |
11.7 |
55 |
58.6 |
CPE = Dow Tyrinâ CM0136 CPE, 36% Cl
DIDP = Diisodecyl Phthalate
TMPTMA = Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate
MBM = N, N’-phenylene-bismaleimide, R. T. Vanderbilt (Vanax MBM)
TAC = Triallyl Cyanurate
|
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