With more than 45 years of experience in polyurethane and plastics additives research and development, the company has developed the Hycasyl family of hydrolysis stabilisers to prolong the performance life of many types of polyurethane adhesives, particularly in the flexible packaging, electrical, electronics, and shoe sole markets.

The new stabilisers are especially useful for higher temperature and moisture applications, where they have demonstrated in lab tests up to 13 times longer adhesive life and up to twice the adhesive strength of unstabilised adhesives, says Rhein Chemie.

Currently, the company offers four Hycasyl grades covering a range of temperature, solubility and application conditions: Hycasyl 500, Hycasyl 100, Hycasyl 1001, Hycasyl 510. The choice of product is dependent on the end-use market, processing conditions and polymer backbone type.

The new family comes out of Rhein Chemie's Global Product Development group that continues to explore new areas of stabiliser development. Through the continual pursuit of new product development and differentiation, the company aims to push further into the globally expanding CASE markets.

"One of the key benefits Hycasyl stabilisers offer formulators is the opportunity to enter new markets," said Bruce Ernst, Global Head of Sales & Marketing for Rhein Chemie's Engineering Plastics Division. "Not only can they extend the performance range of high-performance adhesives, they can also allow formulators to push medium-performance adhesives into more demanding higher-performance applications – in a cost-effective way."