GE Plastics is offering an alternative to multilayer plastic fuel tanks for small engines facing strict fuel emission standards.
The Pittsfield, Mass., firm recently unveiled new grades of Xenoy resin that it claims provide more than enough barrier properties to meet new emission standards. GE Plastics said the resins avoid high equipment costs for blow molded multilayer constructions, as well as the time and cost to treat conventional monolayer tanks with fluorine.
Xenoy X6800BM is a blow-molding grade of Xenoy polybutylene terephthalate that complies with the current California Air Resources Board emission limit and meets the 2012 target. The injection molding grade, Xenoy 6620-GT, also meets current and expected standards. GE Plastics said the materials have the required barrier properties at only 2½ millimeters of wall thickness.
GE Plastics said the new materials can be molded on existing equipment and provide strength and weatherability. The potential market for such tanks includes millions of lawn mowers, blowers, trimmers, snowmobiles and other off-road machines sold in the Unites States each year. GE Plastics estimates the potential annual U.S. market for plastic resins in this application could exceed 44 million pounds.
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