May 25, 2015, Cologne – Specialty chemicals company LANXESS provides its innovative bio-based Keltan Eco EPDM rubber to Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. This well-known global manufacturer of seals and vibration control technology products recently started to produce rubber seals made of Keltan Eco EPDM at its North American affiliate.

Keltan Eco EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) rubber contains up to 70 percent of ethylene obtained from sugarcane, and has an impressive set of properties that is in no way inferior to that of “conventional” EPDM. The bio-renewable rubber compound, for which development at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies already began in 2012, addresses the constantly increasing standards on CO2 footprint reduction, especially in the automotive industry, and the overall global pull for more sustainable industrial solutions.

Christian Widdershoven, Head of the business line Keltan Elastomers within LANXESS’ High Performance Elastomers business unit, says: “Besides the well-recognized technical performance of Keltan EPDM polymers, Keltan Eco EPDM reduces our dependency on fossil resources and, because it is obtained from renewable sugarcane, has a significantly better CO2 footprint than petroleum-based polymers.”

Joe Walker, Global Director Advanced Materials Development at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, explains: “We had been working with polymer suppliers for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but the polymer offerings lacked the specific characteristics we needed for our advanced manufacturing processes. So we initiated a project to research the area, and we were able to develop a material that can be used in our next generation injection molding process.”