Bayer at CPI 2012: Presents Use of Urethane in Construction of Automotive Air & Fluid Filters

Atlanta -- Since the 1960s, vinyl plastisols have been widely used as potting adhesives to bond filter material to metal end-caps in automotive air and fluid filters. Vinyl plastisols are disadvantaged by their long cycle times and high in-place density, as well as containing potentially-leaching ortho-phthalate plasticizers and chlorine-containing materials.

Polyurethanes offer an attractive alternative to vinyl plastisols as adhesives in filters. Bayer MaterialScience LLC offers high-performance polyurethane-based adhesive filter systems that address the aforementioned shortcomings of using vinyl plastisol adhesives, as well as provide other advantages, such as lower energy requirements, a smaller production footprint, faster cycle times resulting in increased productivity, and the ability to replace the end-cap.

One of the most attractive benefits that polyurethane adhesives provide is the potential for material cost savings achieved through density reduction. Value analysis shows that processors using polyurethanes can save more than 25 percent on manufactured part costs when compared with vinyl plastisol.

Furthermore, the high-performance polyurethane compounds can actually be used to mold the end-cap itself, replacing the potting adhesive and metal and structural plastic components to further reduce costs.

Bayer MaterialScience LLCs Peter Hyde-Smith, senior scientist, discusses this subject while presenting "The Use of Urethane in the Construction of Automotive Air and Fluid Filters," as part of the automotive session at the Center for the Polyurethane Industrys Polyurethanes Technical Conference in Atlanta.

Ned Krause, principal scientist; Bradley Pederson, senior R&D specialist; and Dr. Ulrich Holeschovsky, business development manager, all of Bayer MaterialScience LLC, co-authored the paper with Hyde-Smith.

A number of Bayer polyurethane systems used in the construction of automotive air and fluid filtration are supplied in both filled and unfilled, foam and non-foam grades. As Hyde-Smith will address, Bayers Baydur polyurethane system is used as a polyurethane adhesive. Depending on the grade, Bayers Baytec polyurethane system can be used as a polyurethane adhesive or a polyurethane end-cap replacement compound, or both.

About Bayer MaterialScience LLC

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with approximately 14,800 employees at 30 production sites around the world and 2011 sales of 10.8 billion euros. Bayer MaterialSciences 2011 sales in North America were $2.9 billion. The company manufactures high-tech polymer materials and develops innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries. Sustainability is central to Bayer MaterialScience LLCs business and is based around the key areas of innovation, product stewardship, excellence in corporate management, social responsibility and respect for the environment.