US FIRM Minnesota Rubber and Plastics has developed a new technology to improve chloramine resistance of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) materials for use in plumbing applications.
According to its latest press release, these new compounds have no signs of degradation with minimal volume swell after four weeks of accelerated immersion. The volume swell was 50% less than the leading EPDM material on the market, making them ideal for long-term sealing applications.
Haiying Zhou, chief chemist for Minnesota Rubber and Plastics, said, “We continually research ways to improve the chloramine resistance of our rubber compounds while still maintaining their excellent resistance to chlorine and water.”
Adding that they discovered the new proprietary technology while they conduct extensive studies involving advanced chemistry and new compounding trials.
The new technology can be applied to EPDM’s of various hardness, including self-lubricated versions. Also, these new formulations are compatible with injection, compression and transfer molding processes, making them adaptable to a wide range of production requirements. This includes very small to very large components and low to high volume production quantities, said Minnesota Rubber and Plastics.
This next generation of materials is expected to pass NSF 61 requirements for drinking water applications in the near future.
The Minneapolis-based elastomers and thermoplastics products firm has a state-of-the-art lab to test rubber chloramine and chlorine resistance using a proprietary testing methodology. Results can be obtained in a shorter time frame using this procedure verses the standard ASTM D6284 method. Customer testing can be arranged to confirm material performances.