Polymers, adhesives, coatings and recycled materials can emit persistent malodours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), affecting product acceptance, indoor air quality and compliance with increasingly stringent automotive and built-environment standards.
AirSential® technologies can be incorporated directly into materials to help reduce unwanted odours and capture selected VOCs at source. This is particularly valuable where recycled content, adhesives, elastomers or interior materials introduce emissions that are difficult to eliminate by formulation changes alone.
Automotive manufacturers increasingly control vehicle interior air quality through specifications based on methods such as VDA 270, VDA 278 and ISO 12219. Similar pressures apply in the built environment, where manufacturers are expected to demonstrate lower VOC emissions from materials used indoors.
As recycled polymer content increases, controlling odour and VOC emissions becomes increasingly important because recycled feedstocks can introduce a wider and less predictable range of volatile compounds.
AirSential® technologies can help manufacturers reduce unwanted odours and VOC emissions from materials used in automotive interiors, buildings and other enclosed environments. This can support compliance with increasingly stringent OEM specifications and indoor-air-quality requirements, particularly where recycled polymers, adhesives or elastomers are used.
AirSential® can be supplied in formats designed to integrate easily into existing manufacturing processes, including polymer masterbatches and liquid dispersions for coatings and adhesives. This allows VOC and odour-control functionality to be incorporated without fundamentally changing the manufacturing route.
Performance can be measured using recognised methods such as VDA 270, VDA 278 and relevant ISO 16000 standards, depending on the application and target compounds. Testing can be used to compare treated and untreated materials and quantify improvements in odour or VOC performance.
AirSential® formulations can be tailored to the polymer, processing conditions, target VOCs and required level of performance. Radical Materials can support development from initial formulation through laboratory evaluation and application-specific qualification, helping ensure the technology is appropriate for the finished product.
We develop AirSential® odour and VOC capture technologies for recycled polymers, automotive interiors, building materials, elastomers, coatings and adhesives. Solutions can be supplied as masterbatches, compounds or liquid dispersions and tailored to the material, processing conditions and target VOCs.
The aim is straightforward: reduce unwanted odours and VOC emissions without compromising the performance or processability of the finished material.
Increasing recycled content and increasingly stringent indoor-air-quality requirements are placing greater demands on automotive, construction and consumer-product materials. Recycled polymers in particular can introduce persistent odours and a wider range of volatile organic compounds that may be difficult to eliminate through conventional formulation changes alone.
The EU’s new End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation reinforces this trend, with mandatory recycled-plastic content increasing to 15% from 2032 and 25% from 2036.
Send us a sample of your material and details of the application, processing conditions and performance requirements. We will develop an AirSential® formulation tailored to the substrate and target odours or VOCs.
The modified material can then be assessed for properties such as processing behaviour, impact strength and tensile performance to ensure that the required VOC or odour reduction is achieved without compromising the base material.
Once the formulation has been optimised, we can provide material for production-scale evaluation at the recommended addition rate. Finished mouldings or material samples can then be tested using appropriate methods such as VDA 270 for odour, VDA 278 for VOC and fogging, or relevant ISO 16000 methods for building materials.
Where formal validation is required, we can support independent third-party testing and customer-specific qualification.
Polymers, adhesives, coatings and recycled materials can emit persistent malodours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), affecting product acceptance, indoor air quality and compliance with increasingly stringent automotive and built-environment standards.
AirSential® technologies can be incorporated directly into materials to help reduce unwanted odours and capture selected VOCs at source. This is particularly valuable where recycled content, adhesives, elastomers or interior materials introduce emissions that are difficult to eliminate by formulation changes alone.
Automotive manufacturers increasingly control vehicle interior air quality through specifications based on methods such as VDA 270, VDA 278 and ISO 12219. Similar pressures apply in the built environment, where manufacturers are expected to demonstrate lower VOC emissions from materials used indoors.
As recycled polymer content increases, controlling odour and VOC emissions becomes increasingly important because recycled feedstocks can introduce a wider and less predictable range of volatile compounds.
Textiles for both apparel and home furnishings can be made to absorb both malodours and VOCs.
Most anti-odour textile treatments rely on biocides, such silver, copper & silane quats, to kill the bacteria responsible for sweat odours, but these biocides are not effective against the odours caused by molecules in the sweat itself.
Airsential additives can either be incorporated into a synthetic yarn, such as polypropylene carpet staples, or applied with a binder to natural or synthetic yarns at the finishing stage. The active components of the additives can be selected to absorb compounds responsible for malodours, such as TMA (trimethylamine).
Airsential materials can provide carpets and soft furniturings with the capability to absorb harmful VOCs such as formaldehyde from the built environment, making them suitable for use in public buildings such as schools and hospitals where poor interior air quality can be responsible for serious conditions such as asthma.
Automotive interiors use a large number of injection moulded polymer components and plastic coated cable assemblies. With the drive to expand the utilisation of recycled materials, malodours from recylced polymers can be a barrier. The use of appropriate additives can permanently reduce the level of malodour to an acceptable level, enabling them to meet VDA-270 requirements.
In addition to anti-odour properties, some additives are particularly effective at capturing VOCs, such as formaldehyde, toluene and acetaldehyde. The incorporation of these additives into automotive cabin materials affords the potential to mop up many of the harmful VOCs in the vehicle interior.
Masterbatch and compound can be developed to suit specific requirements and applications.
A large proportion of our work is the development of custom solutions, often outside the scope of our standard product range. We relish a challenge, so feel free to test our capabilities..
With the on-site capabilities and facilities, Radical Materials are able to support small to large custom developments from lab scale all the way up to full production.
A wide suite of test facilities are available to support developments. These include mechanical tests as well as properties such as thermal conductivity and surface resistivity.
A wide suite of test facilities are available to support developments. These include mechanical tests as well as properties such as thermal conductivity and surface resistivity.
A continuing focus on new and novel technologies to bring advantages and progression to conductive polymers.