Oct 8 2008
LyondellBasell Industries has launched a new polyethylene adhesive resin that addresses customer needs in the rapidly-expanding pipe coatings industry. The new resin, Lucalen G3710E, is used as an adhesive layer in three-layer coating applications between fusion bonded epoxy resins and an HDPE top coat material.
The new adhesive resin features improved coating properties such as better adhesion and excellent peel strength. According to Piet Roose, LyondellBasell’s Global Marketing Manager for Pipe Coatings, ”with the introduction of this enhanced adhesive resin, we are strengthening our established position of a full-systems’ supplier of polyolefins used in pipe coating. This significantly improved adhesive resin is part of our differentiated pipe coating portfolio which includes also Lupolen 4552D SW00413 HDPE top coat material and PP-based coating products typically used for anti-corrosion coating, mechanical protection and thermal insulation on oil, gas and water transportation pipelines.”
Good adhesion at high temperatures
The new adhesive material Lucalen G3710E meets the demanding requirements from leading customers in terms of pipe coating processing and performance. “We have seen in our commercial projects that the Lucalen G3710E resin demonstrates very good processability of stable film extrusion and good melt strength,” explained Bernard Cavalie, Senior Coating Engineer at the French Pipeline coating company Eupec. In addition, Lucalen G3710E resins provide good adhesion at temperatures of 23°C and 80°C, with good cohesive peeling on rough surfaces during industrial coating production. “Given the good compatibility with approved epoxy resins, Lucalen G3710E resins perform very well in comparison to other competitive grafted adhesive PE resins and are therefore already applied in the commercial pipeline-project TAWEELLAH by Eupec,” added Cavalie.
Further improvements to existing PE adhesives include a wider processing window characterised by an expanded temperature range, which enables customers to use the resin in applications that require performance beyond traditional PE coatings. According to Roose, “The potential of the resin has been fully exploited, as we know from our customers that it can be used both in induction coil as well as flame heating systems.”
Early market acceptance
According to Hans Videler, LyondellBasell’s Global Business Manager for Pipe Coatings, “The pipe industry has experienced significant growth rates over the recent past and we are demonstrating our strategic commitment to the industry by offering a complete pipe coating package. The early market acceptance of Lucalen G3710E resins in highly demanding applications proves that our total package approach meets the operational, handling and installation needs of pipe manufacturers.”