STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW replaces brass in the drinking water sector

In the drinking water sector, parts subject to pressure such as water meters and pump housings are traditionally manufactured from brass materials. The use of plastics in this application would be a very interesting economical alternative but to date there has been no success in this area, mostly because of the high mechanical stresses. Extreme demands are made on the materials, especially in the hot water sector.

However, besides excellent mechanical strength, another precondition for alternatives to metal is physiological harmlessness. This is a particular challenge for heavily reinforced polymers in the production process since reinforcement materials may have an adverse effect on physiological suitability. The principle is: the greater the strength of a compound, the harder it is to gain approval for contact with drinking water.

LEIS Polytechnik GmbH has further improved the proven feed-up technology and, together with EPIC Polymers, developed STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW. The new compounding technology permits heavily reinforced compounds with low proportions of monomers to be manufactured and thereby eliminates any effect on taste. STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW is an aromatic polyamide with heavy glass fibre reinforcement and excellent strength values.

STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW’s tensile strength is 250 MPa with elongation at break of 2% and impact resistance of 70 kJ/mІ.

The conformity of STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW’s composition with the BfR’s (Federal Institute of Risk Assessment) “Plastics in Foodstuffs Transport” positive lists has been confirmed by TZW (Water Technology Centre) Karlsruhe. In a series of practical tests, STRATOR® TA10-5 K-TW has already proved its suitability for parts subject to pressure in the hot water sector.