BASF digs up polyamide developed 50 years ago

Ludwigshafen, Germany - BASF AG is relaunching an engineering polymer it first developed and produced over 50 years ago. The  polyamide 6.10, now branded Ultramid Balance, is based on about 60% on sebacic acid - a renewable raw material derived from castor oil.

The product is being brought back into BASF's portfolio in response to growing interest in materials based on renewables, according to Kurt Hoefli, head of marketing for BASF’s Engineering Plastics in Europe. “We have woken it up from a long sleep because the subject of renewable raw materials has become important to our customers,” he said. 

The "revitalized" material combines a relatively low density for a polyamide with good low-temperature impact resistance and has great dimensional stability due to its low water absorption. It can, therefore, be employedppp not only in classic PA 6 applications, but also wherever the use of PA 6 in the past has run up against limitations.

Apart from Ultramid Balance BASF has another plastic in its portfolio that is produced in substantial measure from castor oil. BASF’s subsidiary Elastogran has already presented its new polyol Lupranol Balance 50. This can be used for manufacturing slabstock foams for mattress production.

Castor oil is obtained from the seed of the castor oil plant, which is grown principally in India, Brazil and China. Used for thousands of years as a medicine, it has also long been used in engineering oils, cosmetics, coatings and in hydraulic oils.