ADHESIVETRENDS
An e-newsletter from ITW TACC
December 2004
|
ADHESIVE |
What goes into making an adhesive is as important as what it's being used for. ADHESIVE MATERIALS provides updates on current materials and production issues. |
|
Heavy Demand, Full Capacity Leading To Fundamental Changes
Demand for commodity chemicals and distillates are strong in the U.S. and globally due to increased industrial production – especially in China. Supply limitations are also influencing price hikes. Since 1980 the number of U.S. refineries has dropped over 50%, to 150 refineries currently operating today. Reduced domestic refining capacity, increased industrial growth in Asia, and the consolidation of the commodity chemical business is driving U.S. chemical manufacturers to seek optimum utilizations of assets.
Outages in processing facilities are significant. Unscheduled downtime is
caused by plants being run at levels of sold-out capacity to meet strong
demand, following years of limited investment. Manufacturers are idling
unprofitable plants or limiting production of low margin products, causing
allocation of some raw material feedstocks, distillates and commodity
chemicals. |
|
Crude oil is not the only culprit as raw material costs continue
to rise. Distillate and commodity chemical costs are rocketing to new
highs. Distillates include solvents, heating oil, gasoline, and other
fuels. Commodity chemicals include resins, polymers, and synthetic
rubbers. Merrill Lynch chemical analyst Donald Carson writes, “The
upcoming peak is likely to be longer in duration, with supply likely
to be fundamentally tighter than previous peaks. Production operating
rates are currently just below the 92% threshold historically marking
a sold-out market, and are likely to be in the 94-95% range in
2006-2007.”|
ADHESIVE |
Our customers face a myriad of business and production challenges. ADHESIVE SOLUTIONS aims to keep you informed of the solutions ITW TACC provides. |
Special Label Helps Avoid Cold Weather Problems
Cold weather can have adverse effects on aerosol products. For maximum performance using our canister adhesives, the temperature of adhesive inside the canister must be within an “optimal” range. But how do you measure that temperature? With ITW TACC’s patented Temperature Indicator Label. All mid-size and large returnable aerosol adhesive canisters produced by ITW TACC between November and March carry this special label. They are bright orange in color, easy to use and easy to read.
One reason aerosols are affected by cold temperatures is its propellant. This hydrocarbon propellant—a liquefied compressed gas—can condense or thicken at colder temperatures, changing the ratio of adhesive solution and propellant being expelled. When this happens, spray pattern and consequently adhesive performance are adversely affected. Spray patterns affected by temperature variations range from slight spitting to streaming liquid, depending on degree and time of exposure to cold. A normal pattern will typically spray out “web-like” onto the surface.
Taking the following precautions can help eliminate potential problems:
Store canisters and cans in a controlled environment between 60°F and 80°F.
Keep canisters off cold concrete floors and away from outside walls .
Allow both laminates and wood substrates to reach both moisture and temperature equilibrium for shop conditions. For best results, adhesive and materials to be bonded should be between 60 - 80F.
If temperature is below 60°F, allow additional time for solvents and propellant to flash off.
Should the propellant condense or thicken, and above-mentioned symptoms are recognized, the problem can be solved by shaking aerosol cans vigorously until warmed sufficiently or moving canisters to areas heated above 70°F until warmed sufficiently. To accelerate this thawing process, all except the 175 and 375 lb. canisters can be submerged in warm water for a minimum of 30 minutes and the problem should be solved. Once the containers and product return to a minimum of 60°F, the products will perform normally.
