EPDM
Ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, the weather- and heat-resistant elastomer for car door seals, hoses, roofing membranes and cable, made from ethylene, propylene and a little ENB.
Pseudo-commodities · Rubbers & elastomers · No. 59
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 1.7 Mt (2022); about 1.9 Mt in 2025 (derived at 4.35% a year)
- 3.0 t CO₂e per t
- HS 400270
The rubber seal around your car door survives decades of sun, rain and ozone thanks to one saturated backbone.
Chart: Illustration: EPDM
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Ethylene and propylene are copolymerised with a little ENB, a diene that lets the rubber be cured with sulphur. Most plants run in hexane solution.
Three things to know
- EPDM stays elastic from about -40 C to 150 C and resists ozone, water and brake fluid.
- The market was about 1.7 Mt in 2022 and is forecast to reach about 3 Mt by 2035, growing 4.35% a year.
- India has no EPDM plant identified in the sources and imports everything it uses for seals, roofing and cable.
The journey
- 1 Monomers45-75% ethylene, 20-50% propylene
- 2 ENB diene2-12% added so sulphur can cure
- 3 PolymerisationVanadium or metallocene catalysts, mostly solution
- 4 FinishingSolvent removed; bales or pellets
- 5 CompoundingOften over half filler and oil