Manufacturing Method of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer Rubber (TPU)
Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer Rubber (TPU) is a high-performance and multi-functional raw material for the production of chemicals, and it is widely used in the fields of footwear materials, cables, tubes, automotive parts, medical devices, and so on. This article will introduce the manufacturing method of TPU in detail.
I. Raw Material Preparation
The following raw materials need to be prepared for manufacturing TPU:
1. Polyol: polyester polyol or polyether polyol is usually used as the soft segment to provide elasticity.
2. Diisocyanates: Used as hard segments to provide strength and hardness.
3. Chain extenders: e.g. ethylene glycol, glycerol, etc., used to regulate molecular weight and hardness.
4. Catalysts: promote the speed of polyurethane reaction.
5. Antioxidants, stabilizers and other additives: to improve the weather resistance, heat resistance and other properties of TPU.
2. Manufacturing process
The manufacturing process of TPU mainly includes the following steps:
1. batching: according to the predetermined formula, add raw materials such as polyol, diisocyanate, chain extender, catalyst, etc. into the batching kettle proportionally and stir well.
2. Polymerization reaction: Transfer the mixture in the dosing kettle to the polymerization reactor, and carry out polymerization reaction under certain temperature and pressure to generate polyurethane prepolymer.
3. Chain expansion reaction: Mix the prepolymer with the chain expander and carry out the chain expansion reaction under a certain temperature and time to generate high molecular weight TPU.
4. Post-treatment: Carry out post-treatment such as cooling, cutting and drying on the generated TPU to get the finished TPU pellets.
3. Precautions
In the manufacturing process of TPU, the following matters need to be paid attention to:
1. Control the quality of raw materials: to ensure that the purity and quality of raw materials is stable, in order to avoid adverse effects on the performance of TPU.
2. Control the reaction conditions: the temperature, pressure, time and other parameters of the polymerization reaction and chain expansion reaction need to be strictly controlled to ensure that the molecular structure and properties of TPU meet the requirements.
3. Preventing the entry of moisture: Moisture can have a negative effect on the polyurethane reaction, so it needs to be strictly prevented from entering during the manufacturing process.
4. Post-treatment process: Post-treatment processes such as cooling, pelletizing, drying, etc. need to be reasonably controlled to ensure the quality and performance of TPU pellets.
In short, the manufacturing method of TPU elastomer rubber needs to strictly control factors such as raw material quality, reaction conditions and post-treatment process to ensure the quality and performance of the product. At the same time, new manufacturing technologies and methods need to be continuously researched and explored to improve the performance and application range of TPU.
