R-TPO stands for Reactor made Thermoplastic Polyolefin and means that it was directly produced in a reactor. This term is used as opposed to C-TPO, which means that it was made through compounding. It is known that R-TPO is produced by only 10 companies around the globe. It has superior impact resistance compared to general Impact copolymer PP, which has the same molding performance. Therefore it is widely used in automobile bumper fascias and instrument panels, and is also used as a material for consumer products such as luggage, bags, tool boxes, containers and hoses.
R-TPO is not much different from general Impact copolymer PP in terms of its elements from a structural point of view. However, R-TPO contains over 25% ethylene-propylene rubber to enhance its impact resistance. From the production point of view, it requires the equipment and the highly evolved production techniques suitable for R-TPO, and thus it can be said that R-TPO is distinctly different from general Impact copolymer PP.
PolyMirae, formerly Daelim, was the first to release R-TPO products in Korea. After that, PolyMirae adopted LyondellBasell's advanced catalysts and product design technology, and released additional products. It also has the competitive advantage compared to its competitors, and is expanding its market dominance by continuously optimizing their products and performance.
As mentioned earlier, R-TPO products have excellent impact resistance and molding performance compared to general Impact copolymer PP, and thus they can be used in many fields, including automobile components. In particular, when seen as an automobile components material, the existing automobile composite materials are filled with a certain amount of expensive industrial rubber to enhance their impact strength, which general Impact copolymer PP lacks. In this incidence, R-TPO can contribute to a substantial cost reduction through the decrease in the use of the expensive rubber content. Besides cost reduction,when considering the use of compounded TPO(C-TPO) with additives and pigments for filler and other uses, it has a broad range of uses. Its uses will be continuously expanded to consumer goods and industrial materials.
R-TPO is not much different from general Impact copolymer PP in terms of its elements from a structural point of view. However, R-TPO contains over 25% ethylene-propylene rubber to enhance its impact resistance. From the production point of view, it requires the equipment and the highly evolved production techniques suitable for R-TPO, and thus it can be said that R-TPO is distinctly different from general Impact copolymer PP.
PolyMirae, formerly Daelim, was the first to release R-TPO products in Korea. After that, PolyMirae adopted LyondellBasell's advanced catalysts and product design technology, and released additional products. It also has the competitive advantage compared to its competitors, and is expanding its market dominance by continuously optimizing their products and performance.
As mentioned earlier, R-TPO products have excellent impact resistance and molding performance compared to general Impact copolymer PP, and thus they can be used in many fields, including automobile components. In particular, when seen as an automobile components material, the existing automobile composite materials are filled with a certain amount of expensive industrial rubber to enhance their impact strength, which general Impact copolymer PP lacks. In this incidence, R-TPO can contribute to a substantial cost reduction through the decrease in the use of the expensive rubber content. Besides cost reduction,when considering the use of compounded TPO(C-TPO) with additives and pigments for filler and other uses, it has a broad range of uses. Its uses will be continuously expanded to consumer goods and industrial materials.
PolyMirae's R-TPO characteristics and development status
Out of the PP manufacturers who use the Spheripol process in Asia, only PolyMirae has two gas reactors that are connected to each other (see Figure 1). Polypropylene, which contains over 30% EPR (Ethylene-propylene Rubber), can be produced using those two reactors. PolyMirae’s R-TPO products are produced using the same catalyst in the reactors through the polymerization of high content rubber and normal polypropylene. Therefore the rubber and the homo matrix PP base are distributed uniformly in molecular units. This characteristic shows that using R-TPO delivers relatively more uniform performance compared to products mixed through compounding without using R-TPO.
The PolyMirae R-TPO products that can be used commercially have good processability and paintability, as well as excellent low temperature impact resistance. Therefore they can be only used for automobile components material that requires cost reduction, but also single material for specific parts without compounding. Product uses for this application are expected to be more expanded, being coupled with environmental requirements such as a reduction in vehicle weight. Based on this anticipation, PolyMirae is striving to develop products with varied and improved capabilities. For example, LyondellBasell, a leader in the global PP market, has up-to-date catalyst technologies and product design capabilities based on its accumulated experience of product development over a long period of time. PolyMirae has two gas reactors and skilled operation techniques. With the combination of those companies’ expertise, PolyMirae has been striving to produce two types of EPR with different performances in the two reactors or to develop products that have improved flowability or a higher level of flexural modulus. Moreover, PolyMirae is capable of producing products that have improved dimensional stability and can improve upon the whitening phenomenon, i.e., when an impacted area turns white, by using PolyMirae’s equipment efficiently. Therefore, a variety of products that satisfy customer needs will be released in the market in the near future.
The PolyMirae R-TPO products that can be used commercially have good processability and paintability, as well as excellent low temperature impact resistance. Therefore they can be only used for automobile components material that requires cost reduction, but also single material for specific parts without compounding. Product uses for this application are expected to be more expanded, being coupled with environmental requirements such as a reduction in vehicle weight. Based on this anticipation, PolyMirae is striving to develop products with varied and improved capabilities. For example, LyondellBasell, a leader in the global PP market, has up-to-date catalyst technologies and product design capabilities based on its accumulated experience of product development over a long period of time. PolyMirae has two gas reactors and skilled operation techniques. With the combination of those companies’ expertise, PolyMirae has been striving to produce two types of EPR with different performances in the two reactors or to develop products that have improved flowability or a higher level of flexural modulus. Moreover, PolyMirae is capable of producing products that have improved dimensional stability and can improve upon the whitening phenomenon, i.e., when an impacted area turns white, by using PolyMirae’s equipment efficiently. Therefore, a variety of products that satisfy customer needs will be released in the market in the near future.
PolyMirae's RTPO Grades
| Properties | Unit | EP242N | EP200R | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MFR | dg/min | 11 | 21 | |
| Tensile Strength @Y | ㎏/㎠ | 190 | 190 | |
| Flexural Modulus | ㎏/㎠ | 9000 | 7500 | |
| Notched | @23℃ | kgcm/cm | NB | NB |
| IZOD Impact | @-30℃ | 8 | 9 | |
PolyMirae's RTPO Production Process
