Electric cables are tasked with supplying the flow of electricity from a source of power to its destination without any leakage, failure or disruption. This is accomplished by coating a metallic conductor with a material which is dielectri-cally resistant and on the whole nonconductive. These coatings fall under the classification as insulators. Insulators are compounded with a primary focus on their mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elongation and hardness. Secondary to this are the properties related to electrical integrity of the finished product and resistances to such environments exposing the cable to water, oils, flame, ozone or UV. Residential power cables are an example of a medium-voltage application which requires an optimized service life in varying conditions while maintaining the highest levels in electrical performance. To meet these service life requirements, the polymer(s) chosen must be very clean and free of residues from catalysts used during the polymerization process. EPDM is widely chosen for use in medium-voltage applications due to its range of high and low temperature properties, ozone resistance and superior wet or dry electrical properties. These applications require high ethylene content polymers to impart high tensile strength, low Mooney viscosity and a branched structure to provide the appropriate shear thinning characteristics for ease in processing. Roy-alEdge 4191P-1 (designated as Polymer A) has been successfully used in medium voltage electrical insulation for several years. Further evaluation of polymerization methods yielded the development of an even cleaner and easier processing polymer, RoyalEdge 5041 (designated as Polymer B). Our clean catalyst technology was developed to meet the ever changing dynamics in the market for wire and cable products to push the performance envelope and demand more of the chemical components from which they are made.
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