Although it consumes only about 5-7% of plastics, the electrical and electronics market sector exercises large demands on additives, which will certainly grow in volume and value. Covering both consumer and industrial products, E and E involves housings and enclosures for all types of equipment and an increasing volume of moulded connectors and circuitry.
Essentially, as well as the stabilizers and processing aids required for most mass-production moulded components, E and E has a significant and growing sector where some form of conductivity is needed (at the lowest, to prevent internal static discharge, but increasingly to shield delicate components against external electromechanical interference).
Predictably, flame retardants form a key additive for E and E applications, where they come under increasingly strict regulation regarding performance and evolution of fumes, while the proposed extension of recycling legislation in Europe to cover Waste Electrical and Electronics Equip-ment (WEEE) is proving a point of serious controversy throughout the industry.