Immersion Study of Selected Engineering Plastics at Elevated Temperatures

Engineering plastics in automotive fuel system components must perform at a consistently high level under very demanding conditions. This study, which expands upon one that Ticona conducted in 1991 evaluates selected plastics in the new generation of more reactive ethanol/methanol fuel blends at two temperatures that are representative of current fuel tank (65°C) and engine compartment (121°C) conditions for 5000 hours of exposure. Plastics tested were polyacetal (co/homo polymers), polyphenylene sulfide, polybutylene terephthalate, aliphatic polyketone, nylon 6/6 and high temperature nylon. An independent testing laboratory following SAE and ISO protocols did the actual immersion and testing.

The study confirms the importance of long term testing to assist in understanding of how aggressive, alternative fuels and plastics interact. The study validates the relative performance benefits and continued use in automotive fuel applications of Celcon^® polyacetal copolymers at fuel tank conditions and Fortron^® polyphenylene sulfide at engine compartment conditions.