Swedish flexible polymer specialist Hexpol TPE (Malmö; www.hexpoltpe.com) has introduced a range of TPE compounds based on renewable resources such as plant and vegetable crops. The “Dryflex Green” range includes several series with levels of renewable content of over 70% and with hardnesses ranging from 50 to 80 Shore A.

The company said the materials display mechanical and physical properties comparable to TPE from fossil-based raw materials and offer flexibility and tensile properties with a soft-touch feel. They can be processed using traditional polymer technologies such as injection moulding and extrusion and are fully recyclable and easily coloured. Sustainable applications have been identified in the consumer, automotive, packaging, medical and construction markets.

Klas Dannäs, Hexpol TPE’s global R&D coordinator, said: “We are excited to introduce low hardness TPE products with such high levels of renewable content to the market. We are seeing increasing demands for the polymer industry to look at how we can work with bio-based materials and bring new opportunities for sustainability. Our R&D teams are constantly engineering new polymer combinations and we have been working closely with suppliers to develop sustainable and ethical alternatives to fossil-based raw materials.”

The range was launched at this year’s “Fakuma” industry fair (www.fakuma-messe.de), held in Friedrichshafen / Germany from 13 to 17 October.