Adhesive and sealant manufacturers and end users are always looking for a competitive edge. Faced with a bewildering number of formulation choices and risk/reward tradeoffs, they can end up getting left behind as technologies advance, or make a technical or business mistake if they are too aggressive. There are literally hundreds of raw materials to choose from, a long process to validate and verify new ingredients, and precious little time for internally driven product development projects. A recently developed engineered material* is helping adhesive and sealant manufacturers rethink their formulation strategies. In fact, early adopters report simpler, better-performing, lower-cost formulas, improved plant processing—better mixing, shorter batch cycle times, increased yields and lower total cost in use.
With dosing rates ranging from 2% to more than 30% by weight, initial applications include hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesives (HMPSAs) for flashing tape, cope seals for the foundry industry, roofing mastics, liquid and peel-and-stick adhesives for roofing membranes, rubber compounds, sporting clays, and road surface and maintenance products. These early positive results were followed up with commissioning two third-party-certified laboratories to complete R&D projects aimed at helping formulators and compounders better understand how the new material could help them achieve their technical and business objectives.