Arkema has announced the launch of its first range of liquid thermoplastic resins under the brand name Elium.
When combined with Arkema Luperox peroxide initiators, Elium can be moulded into complex design forms for composite parts and perfectly blends with glass or carbon fibres. As a bonus, it is also compatible with conventional thermosetting resin transformation technologies which cuts down the costs of transformers.
Unlike unsaturated polyesters, Elium resins do not contain styrene. And because of their thermoplastic properties, they can be used to design composite parts that are easily thermoformed and recyclable with comparable mechanical performance to epoxy parts.
The company claim that the Elium technology reduces the cost of long staple thermoplastic composite parts. The resins are easy to use in conventional thermoset resin processes, it transforms at room temperature and it does not contain any fabricated products like organo-sheets.
In addition to the new Elium range, Arkema is developing a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) called Kepstan to replace metal in extreme conditions (offshore, aviation), the Rilsan range, a high-performance powdered or granulated polyamide that is 100% bio-sourced and makes thermoset composites resistant to abrasion and shock at very high or low temperatures.