Tag Pentane Blowing Agent

Knowledge Sharing – The Importance of Blowing Agents in Lost Foam Casting

It is absolutely impossible to obtain high-quality lost foam castings without high-quality patterns. STMMA is an expandable copolymer resin bead specially used for the pattern material of lost foam casting. Pentane is mainly used as the foaming agent, and the content of pentane directly affects the quality of the mold. The main process of pentane control: pre-expansion – bead curing – die drying In the process of pre-expansion, on the one hand, it is the process of expanding and foaming the beads, and on the other hand, it is the main process of pentane loss. Pentane is the basis for pre-expanding and molding, but after the molding is completed, it is hoped that the pentane can be completely and completely dissipated. Copolymerized beads with less than 9.5% of the original bead pentane can shorten the heating time during pre-expanding, and it is recommended to control it at about 40s; Control it around 60s. The structure of the beads is damaged if the pre-expansion time is long, and too much foaming agent is consumed; thus affecting the quality of the secondary molding. STMMA storage method: low temperature storage ≤ 10 degrees. When it is not used up after opening, remember to re-tighten the bag, and keep the barrel covered at low temperature to prevent the loss of pentane. Bead aging The newly foamed beads have negative pressure inside and are easy to collapse. They must be put into the aging warehouse for aging treatment, allowing air to enter the interior of the beads to achieve internal and external balance. Aging is a process for the pre-released beads to reach stability. During the stabilization process, the beads change: most of the water evaporates, the beads recover a certain degree of elasticity, and the content of pentane decreases. When the pentane content is less than 9.5%, the curing time of the pre-haired beads is generally controlled to be 12-48 hours. When the content of pentane is greater than 9.5%, the curing time of the pre-haired beads is generally controlled at 3-4 days. In this curing process, the pentane content is controlled at 7%-8% to reduce the possibility of expansion bubbles in the later stage after bead molding. At this time, the mold is filled evenly, easy to form, the surface of the mold is high, strong, and the beads are fused with each other. Die shrinkage is stable and consistent. When the pentane content of the beads is less than 5% after bead curing, it is very difficult to form a die, the surface collapses, shrinks, and the uneven surface is not smooth.

Molds are produced when the pentane content is less than 5%
Die made with pentane content of 7%-8%

The higher the die drying temperature, the faster the pentane volatilizes. The die pieces are placed in the air for natural aging, and the pentane and water content evaporate slowly. According to my many years of production experience: under normal circumstances, after one day of curing, the dies are sent to the drying room at a temperature controlled between 45-50 degrees, and sent to the pentane content after drying for 4-5 days. If the pentane content is greater than 5%, it can continue to be cured at high temperature, and it can be used when it is less than 5%. When the pentane content of the pattern is greater than 5%, the dip-coated pattern is wrapped by the coating, even if the high-temperature drying gas is difficult to volatilize. During the pouring process, the amount of gas is too large, which causes the imbalance of internal and external air pressure to cause reverse spray and collapse of the box. Castings produce porosity, air separation, and incompleteness lead to castings being scrapped.

market supply and demand changes from raw material prices

Pentane blowing agent: market supply and demand changes from raw material prices

Since 2022, affected by the strong rise in the crude oil market, the price of Domestic Topping oil has risen as a whole, and the profits of downstream pentane foaming agent manufacturers once entered a negative range. In the middle of March, the crude oil began to fall after rising, the price of Domestic Topping oil began to decline, the profits of pentane blowing agent manufacturers improved, and the manufacturers began to operate one after another.

Taking Shandong as an example, it can be seen from the above figure that since 2022, the prices of topping oil and pentane foaming agent in the region have increased. However, from January to February, the price of raw materials has increased too fast, which has been higher than the price of foaming agent products for a long time. Considering the freight of raw materials, the processing cost of devices and other factors, the device has suffered obvious losses. The foaming agent factories in Dongying have shut down one after another, and the supply has declined. At present, the total capacity of pentane units in the Chinese market is about 3million tons, the daily theoretical supply is about 8200 tons / day, and the actual daily output is about 5800 tons. By the middle of March, it was more difficult to find goods downstream.

However, in the middle of June, the domestic refined oil market demand was poor. In particular, the epidemic situation in Shandong repeatedly led to the upgrading of management and control, many regions entered the state of home isolation, and the reduction of travel further weakened the gasoline consumption. As of June 29, the national VI 92. It is understood that the unit of Daqing Oilfield fine chemical industry was restarted on June 12, Dongying Liangxin Petrochemical Technology Development Limited Company resumed construction around March 15, and Shida Changsheng plans to resume construction on March 15, resulting in an increase in market supply.

As for the future market, the supply of pentane blowing agent in the Chinese market will remain stable from mid to late March to June. In terms of raw materials, there are certain guidelines on the news. The market has digested in advance the benefits of supply tightening brought about by the overhaul of Huaxing, Changyi, Zoje, etc. at present, it is mainly supported by downstream demand. By early April, there was a small and long Tomb Sweeping Day holiday in China. Although the epidemic situation has been repeated to a certain extent, there are still some goods in the domestic gasoline market, supporting the acceleration of raw material shipment and supporting the pentane foaming agent market. The downstream EPS market of foaming agent is expected to be better as the temperature warms up. Overall, the pentane blowing agent market maintained good supply and demand from mid March to June.

Request a Quote

Request a Quote

for Pentanes, Hexanes, Heptanes, Butanes and more

I will be back soon

Request a Quote
If you would like to receive a quote to purchase a product or you would like more information, please message us on WhatsApp.