EVA/PE: Low-Formamide and Low-Odour Evaluation

The supplied solution covers EVA footwear, yoga and floor mats, children’s foam, PE/EVA sheets and rolls, packaging and cushioning. It treats expansion, cost, formamide, odour, cells, shrinkage and long-term dimensional stability as related targets.

• Elevated formamide test results.
• Odour directly after demoulding or returning after sealed packing.
• Insufficient expansion or increased shrinkage after changing to a lower-temperature agent.
• Coarse, merged or broken cells and unstable skins.
• Density/hardness lost when AC dosage is reduced.
• Batch variation in density, dimensions or odour.

Record resin grade, AC model, crosslinking system, actual material temperature, moulding time, thickness and post-ageing. Define the intended market and the specified finished-product tests; odour, VOC and formamide are different evaluation items.

Release before the material develops gas retention can lose gas; late release can leave insufficient foam, residue or later swelling. Match gas release to melting, crosslinking and cooling, instead of treating a lower nominal decomposition temperature as a complete solution.

A compound route is not simple addition of ingredients. Components have different decomposition windows, gas types and rates; rebuild the formulation/process window through trials.

Odour reduction does not establish a formamide value, and either result alone does not establish VOC compliance. Select a route from the actual material, processing history and product requirement, not from an unconditional “zero” claim.

1. A · Baseline. Current compound, agent, dose and process, with the current result recorded.
2. B · Direct replacement. Change the candidate agent while holding other conditions steady.
3. C · Process optimisation. Evaluate permitted adjustments to actual temperature, time, speed, pressure and cooling.
4. D · Alternative. Compare a second candidate or a reviewed compound route.

For each group record model, batch, dose, mixing order, equipment settings, actual material temperature, pressure, speed, residence time, mould/die, cooling and sample time.

For this application, also record compound batch, mixing, actual temperature, moulding time, thickness, cooling and ageing before sampling.

• Apparent density, expansion and part weight.
• Cell size/distribution, merging and breakage.
• Shrinkage and dimensions at 24 hours, 7 days and 28 days where relevant.
• Hardness, tensile, tear and compression properties.
• Whiteness, colour and yellowing.
• Odour after 24 hours, 7 days and 28 days, plus separately specified formamide, VOC and other restricted-substance tests.

Pending confirmation No numerical formamide reduction, odour grade, validated formulation or original finished-product report is supplied for this solution.

A successful small trial does not establish stable production performance. Recheck batches, actual equipment temperatures, mixing and feeding, speed, pressure, residence time, mould/die condition, cooling and ageing during the production trial.

Technical advice does not replace the customer’s formulation responsibility, production verification, finished-product testing or target-market requirements.

TDS, SDS and COA roles · AC process matching · Selection and trials

Provide the material and grade, process and thermal history, current formulation, issue, target tests/methods, destination market and acceptable density, cells, mechanics and dimensions.