Mitsui Chemicals

PFAS Alternatives

  • Mission of TPX™
  • About PFAS

We collaborate closely with our customers to address PFAS restrictions by utilizing TPX™ material, which offers several similar properties to fluoropolymers, including heat resistance, releasability, chemical resistance, and dielectric properties. Our projects are supported by our advanced development technologies refined throughout decades of experience.

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PFASs stand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom except any H, Cl, Br and I atom connected. It includes almost every organo-fluorine compound in the world.

Because of their excellent properties, including heat resistance, chemical resistance, flame resistance, and oil resistance, organo-fluorine compounds are used in a wide range of products that are indispensable to our daily lives. On the other hand, their outstanding durability makes them difficult to decompose in the natural world, raising concerns about their impact on the environment and human health.

Fluoropolymers (PTFE, ETFE, PFA, etc.) are included in the regulatory targets under consideration by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and there is a risk that various products containing fluoropolymers will be prohibited from use within the European region.
US EPA is mandating PFAS reporting rules and several US states have enacted state bans on PFAS in personal care and food packaging products. *1

Because fluoropolymers have properties superior to other materials, it is not easy to find replacements.
The difficulty in replacing fluoropolymers varies depending on the application in which they are used, and it is being proposed that the grace period after PFAS restriction will be set at either 5 years or 12 years besides the 18-month transition period depending on the development status of alternative materials.

Reference

*1 ECHA

*2 This Web page was prepared by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. based on information as of November 2024.

Application examples for PFAS replacement

Properties

Heat
Resistance

TPX™ has the highest melting point among polyolefins.

unit TPX™
（RT18）		 HDPE PC Homo-PP PA6
Melting point
*Glass transition point for amorphous resins		 ℃ 232 132 150 168 225
Vicat softening point ℃ 167 128 154 157 195
graph of Transparency
Releasability

TPX™ has excellent releasability.
The surface tension of TPX™ is comparable to that of PTFE.

graph of Transparency
Low Dielectric Property

TPX™, with its non-polar structure, exhibits low dielectric properties comparable to those of fluoropolymers.

Dielectric property TPX™ PTFE ETFE PE
Dielectric constant 10kHz 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.3
1MHz 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.3
10GHz 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.3
Dielectric dissipation factor
（tanδ）		 10kHz < 0.0003 < 0.0003 0.0006 NE
1MHz < 0.0003 < 0.0003 0.0015 NE
10GHz 0.0008 0.0005 0.0150 NE
graph of Transparency
Chemical Resistance

TPX™ demonstrates exceptional resistance to acids, alkalis, and alcohols, attributed to its stable C-C bond

TPX™ PTFE
sulfuric acid(96%) A A
sodium hydroxide(40%) A A
sodium hypochlorite(10%) A NE
acetone B A
ethyl alcohol(95%) A NE
hydrofluoric acid(40%) A NE

Test conditions: Evaluation: TPX™ MX002, Duration: 23℃168 hours

Weight change: A Less than 1%, B 1% to less than 10%, C 10% or more

Clean

TPX™ is a clean material characterized by minimal metal migration

ng/cm2 Metal
Mg Fe Al Ca Mo Ti Cr Mn Li Na K Ag Cd Sn Pb Ni Cu Zn
Migration period 1day <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1
7day <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1

Test conditions:

Evaluation: TPX™ RT18

Solvent used: 6% Hydrochloric acid

Migration period: 1day / 7days

Calculation: Converted amount of metal migration per 1cm2 of sample (ng/cm2)

Lightweight

TPX™ has the lowest density among polyolefins

TPX™ PTFE FEP HomoPP
Density （g/cm3） 0.83 2.2 2.1 0.9
Sterilization Resistance

TPX™ exhibits minimal degradation and discoloration even after sterilization through autoclaving or gamma-ray irradiation.

Autoclave resistance

  • Color stability

    Color stability

  • Haze stability

    Haze stability

Autoclave test Condition:

2.1kgf/cm2 steam (121℃) X 20min

* This data is representative and not guaranteed

Γ-ray resistance

  • TPX™ RT31

    TPX RT31

  • Homo-PP

    Homo-PP

  • PC

    PC

Γ-ray: Cobalt 60

Processability of TPX™

TPX™ is compatible with a wide range of molding methods, including injection molding, extrusion molding, blow- molding, lamination and machining.

About TPX™

Contact

If you would like to request samples or more information, please contact us using the inquiry form.

Inquiry form

Other PFAS Alternative materials

※The data in this website are representative data of our measurements, not guaranteed data.