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comment Flexible Noryl Resin Could Offer New Wire-Coating Option
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) dominate the plenum-rated electrical and data cable market, but a newcomer from GE Plastics could offer an intriguing alternative.
In December 2005, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) listed GE’s Flexible Noryl® resin for wire coating and insulation under the UL reference standard for electrical wires, cables, and flexible cords, for up to 216°F (105°C) end-use temperatures.
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GE has produced Noryl, a modified polyphenylene oxide (PPO) polymer resin, since the 1960s. Noryl comes in several different proprietary formulations, usually with a copolymer such as polystyrene in addition to the PPO. Health concerns have been raised about polystyrene, but Flexible Noryl is an alloy of PPO and an olefin, which is considered safer.
GE is touting Flexible Noryl through its ecomagination® initiative. According to Hiroshi Yoshida, GE Plastics’ global market director for wire coating, Flexible Noryl wire coating does not contain phthalates, lead stabilizers, or the potential for dioxin release—all concerns with PVC. And it does not contain the halogens that cause fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), popular in plenum-rated data wiring, to emit toxic gases when very hot. Adding to its great credentials, Flexible Noryl should be comparatively easy to recycle, because it is a thermoplastic, not a thermoset plastic.
While Hong Kong-based LTK Industries, Ltd., was among the first to use Flexible Noryl in a wire-coating application (in its flat-screen televisions with halogen-free parts), no U.S. manufacturer has followed suit. As for insulating or sheathing plenum cable with Noryl, Yoshida says GE is studying the market. The cost of Noryl is an impediment. Yoshida acknowledges that PVC is comparatively cheap to make, and, although Noryl is lighter and less of it is needed, those benefits have more value for appliances and automobiles than for building materials.
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