Foam Extrusion of Thermoplastic Elastomers Using CO2 as Blowing Agent

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted to research the foamability of different thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) using CO2 as blowing agent and Hydrocerol as nucleating agent. For each material, different foaming temperatures, as well as blowing and nucleating agent percentages, were examined. A specific TPU-type showed the best foamability; a SEBS-type was also successfully foamed, and a PP/EPDM-blend especially developed for foaming with water was most difficult to foam with CO2 as blowing agent.