Written on 06.03.2013 - Technology
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Kraiburg TPE uses oils based on Shell’s Gas-to-Liquid technology

Kraiburg TPE has announced that it uses Shell’s next generation process oil based on gas-to-liquid technology (GTL).

The producer of thermoplastic elastomers based in Waldkraiburg, Germany, is preparing for commercial production using Shell Risella X. Oliver Zintner, Director Europe Kraiburg TPE, said: “It is an on-going challenge for companies to improve the efficiency of their operations and continue to improve product quality. For us, part of the work to meet this challenge is being done via a new TPE product, developed in close cooperation with Shell, modified with a completely new raw material. The new raw material is the cutting edge synthetic process oil: Shell Risella X.”

Kraiburg TPE said that first tests showed improved compatibility in the TPE matrix due to the chemical structure of the oil. The basic building block for the oil is natural gas rather than crude oil, therefore it has a different chemical structure to conventional mineral-oil based process oils.

The basic technology behind the GTL process, known as Fischer-Tropsch, was developed by German scientists in the 1920s and refined by Shell’s proprietary technology. This technology has been brought to life in the GTL Pearl plant, a joint development between Qatar Petroleum and Shell, which has a capacity of 260,000 barrels oil equivalent a day. The plant in Qatar is the world’s largest source of GTL products.