Advantages And Disadvantages Of Thermoplastic Elastomers

TPE materials have the potential to be recyclable since they can be molded, extruded and reused like plastics, but they have typical elastic properties of rubbers which are not recyclable owing to their thermosetting characteristics. TPE also require little or no compounding, with no need to add reinforcing agents, stabilizers or cure systems. Hence, batch-to-batch variations in weighting and metering components are absent, leading to improved consistency in both raw materials and fabricated articles. TPEs can be easily colored by most types of dyes. Besides that, it consumes less energy and more economical control of product quality is possible.

The disadvantages of TPEs relative to conventional rubber or thermoset are relatively high cost of raw materials, general inability to load TPEs with low cost fillers, such as carbon black(therefore preventing TPEs from being used in automobile tires), poor chemical and heat resistance, high compression set and low thermal stability. TPEs soften or melt at elevated temperature above which they lose their rubbery behaviour. TPEs show creep behaviour on extended use.