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Ethylene-Propylene Copolymer

This report shows the development of ethylene-propylene Copolymer that is otherwise known as ethylene-propylene rubber (EPM), its classification among other polymers. The report enhances and explains the properties of EPM, their uses and application with a listing of the sources of the EPM and their commercial uses.

In daily life transactions, polymers play important and essential roles because of their wide range of properties. The polymers can be either natural or synthetic that is often composed of a number of repeated subunits that form a large molecule referred to as polymer (Aguilar & Román,2019). Ethylene- propylene rubber that is also referred to as Ethylene- propylene copolymer. With a combination of other chemical compounds and Copolymerizing propylene and ethylene, the process produces a class of synthetic rubber that is called ethylene-propylene rubber The wide range of properties exhibited by the synthetic rubber makes it useful in a number of function, especially in construction, electrical and locomotive engineering. With special and general-purpose application the rubbers copolymers EPM and EPDM elastomers formed as classes of synthetic rubber, they have become a widely used and growing fast form of rubber (Muvundamina et al, 2019)

The major types of copolymers with elastic properties are classified to those that are developed by compounding ethylene and propylene alone and those that are developed by incorporation of small amounts of diene forming the ethylene-propene diene EPDM. Both EPM and EPDM are usually development through compounding in which gaseous ethylene and propylene are dissolved in hexane or other organic solvents before they are subjected to catalyst actions. The rise and demand for specific needs. Copolymerization in contemporary society has seen the development of polymerization and catalyst technologies to enhance the designs and ability of these polymers to achieve the specific demand and processing needs(Aguilar & Román,2019). Through the literature review, previous consumption of the rubber and daily application of this EPM and EPDM. The short project is able to analyses the sources and commercial uses of EPM and EPDM among the effects it upon application. The rubbers are pigmented properly in black as the compounds that are not black are colour stable thus limiting the ageing of the compound. EPM is developed as a polymer that has a saturated backbone structure that is stable making the rubber properties enhance its valuation as it is able to excellently resist heat, ozone, oxidation and weather ageing. Since they are classified as non-polar elastomers they have a good resistance towards electricity and polar solvents that include; water, acids, alkaline and alcohols (Zhang, Shang & Wu,2019). They have low good flexibility in low temperature that allows the glass transition points to be almost at -60 degrees. They also portray a good compression resistance at heat temperatures of up to 160 degrees with the systems of acceleration properly choosing sulfur and peroxide cured compounds.

This polymer develops a high tear and tensile properties with excellent corrosion resistance that sees an improved oil swelling resistance and heat flame retardance. These properties can be found in a single compound, however, rarely. The extent and expansion of the compounds can be achieved through proper compounding of the elements. The electrical properties of EP are excellent with the resilience being good as the stability of the compound is limited to a range of temperature (Shan, Laakso & Garcia-Meitin,2019). The wearing or corrosion resistance of the product is fairly good with the provision of being excellent if the compounds involved are properly compounded. The temperature range supporting its stability where it can be useful are the extremes of between -60 to 160 degrees. The compression ability ranges from 20 to 60 per cent with its elongation ability being 100 to 600 per cent. They, however, have disadvantages as residue carbon-carbon bonds are quite reactive in that when adds up in the atmosphere as ozone they form an unstable product that usually decomposes spontaneously. The main chain of natural rubber and regular diene polymers are often a double bond that essentially means that once a double bond is attacked, the entire molecule is broken (Zhang, Shang & Wu,2019). The double bonds in the molecules, however, are less susceptible to degradation by either sunlight or weathering.

The commercial applications of ethylene-propylene rubber are often used in automotive, HVAC, Roofing, Industrial systems(Kleunen, Brumer, Gutbrod & Zhang,2019). In HVAC it applications is used in the compression of grommets, shaping formed drain tubes, tubing of pressure switches as in automotive its commercial application lies in the wire and cable harnessing, filling window spacers, involved in hydraulic brake systems and sealing doors, windows and trunks. In roofing the EPM is used to coat the roofs to avoid corrosion as in the industrial usage it is applied in water systems especially the O-rings and horses as well as insulating electrical wires and stinger covers. The sources of ethylene-propylene rubber are often natural rubber and synthetic rubbers that are compounded with other subunits to form the big molecule (Kleunen, Brumer, Gutbrod & Zhang,2019)

References

Aguilar, M. R., & San Román, J. (Eds.). (2019). Smart polymers and their applications. Woodhead publishing.

Muvundamina, M. J., Robe, G. R., Williams, T., Hagood, A. G., Sood, D. S., Somers, M. S., … & Cottle, R. P. (2019). U.S. Patent Application No. 10/308,740.

Zhang, S., Zhang, W. C., Shang, D. D., & Wu, Y. X. (2019). Synthesis of ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight ethylene‐propylene copolymer via quasi‐living copolymerization with N‐heterocyclic carbene ligated vanadium complexes. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 57(4), 553-561.

Shan, C. L. P., Laakso Jr, R. L., & Garcia-Meitin, E. I. (2019). U.S. Patent No. 10,308,796. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

van Kleunen, M., Brumer, A., Gutbrod, L., & Zhang, Z. (2019). A microplastic used as infill material in artificial sports turfs reduces plant growth. Plants, People, Planet.