Oil and Gas
How is the oil produced?
The journey from crude to the finished bitumen and naphthenic oils delivered by Nynas is an interesting one. By applying heat and hydrotreating the molecules, we remove impurities and refine the oil into products which can be found all around you.
The journey from crude to highly refined naphthenic oil starts in the distillation column. Firstly, the oil is heated and distilled into different hydrocarbon mixtures – or fractions - according to boiling point. The heavier fractions at the bottom have the highest boiling point and are refined into bitumen products, while those higher up in the column become distillates more suited to the production of naphthenic specialty products.
Nynas Naphthenics
MINERAL OIL ADHESIVES IN METALLOCENE POLYOLEFIN HOT MELTS
During the past few years, metallocene polyolefin elastomers (mPO) have become significant market players and are growing continuously in several industrial segments.
During the past few years, metallocene polyolefin elastomers (mPO) have become significant market players and are growing continuously in several industrial segments. Strong penetration can be observed in hot melt adhesives (HMA) where the dominant polymer is still styrene block copolymer (SBC). Due to the unique properties, versatile applicability and supply benefits polyolefin based alternatives are becoming increasingly favourable and have also started to replace SBCs in certain HMA applications. The estimated global demand for SBCs and polyolefins are expected to be equal by 2020.
Mineral oil is used as plasticiser in a variety of hot melt applications (e.g. tapes, labels, flooring, hygiene articles etc). The function of the plasticiser is to lower the melt viscosity, to adjust glass transition temperature and the end-use properties. Similarly to SBCs, mPOs are also high molecular weight compounds that require plasticiser to meet certain property requirements. Hence, it is of great importance to assess the compatibility and impact of mineral oils on the performance of mPO-based HMAs.