Processor Prism commercializes TPE made from ELT

Kirkland, Wash.—Prism Worldwide L.L.C. has commercially launched a thermoplastic elastomer featuring 50 percent post-consumer recycled content from end-of-life tires.

AncoraTM C-1000 TPE maintains "the look, feel and processing of a typical petrochemically derived TPE," the clean-tech materials startup said in a statement.

The Kirkland-based company said its patented process uses tire rubber as the primary feedstock in the production of polymer intermediates called PTR. The process chemically and physically converts thermoset rubber into a thermoplastic rubber product.

According to the company, the processing steps leave "essentially all the valuable polymer, linkages and carbon black intact." And most importantly, the process does not break or destroy the sulfur bonds, which according to Prism is "a major breakthrough" for the rubber industry.

The material is then compounded into injection moldable TPE pellets at the company's Sodus, N.Y. plant, which the company acquired last November through the purchase of CRC Polymer Systems Inc.

The first compound in the series is said to be suitable for use in applications such as automotive all-weather mats, weather stripping and footwear. The compound is available in black and has a Shore A hardness of 80.

According to Prism, the company's base polymer has a carbon footprint that is approximately 86 percent lower than virgin synthetic rubber compounds.

"There is growing demand for recycled content throughout the industry, and high recycle content TPEs are not widely available," said Mark Kinkelaar, chief commercial officer.