Foaming agent is a kind of additives that can form a cellular structure in plastics. They can produce a large number of gases under specific conditions, in the formation of these containing continuous or discontinuous pores (i.e. open or closed holes), so that the plastic formed a gas-solid bonded porous structure material, which can reduce the density and hardness of the plastic, or enhance its sound insulation and heat insulation.

According to the different ways of producing gas, foaming agents can be divided into physical foaming agents and chemical foaming agents.

Chemical foaming agent

AC foaming agent is the most commonly used foaming agent in PVC, PE, PP, PS, EVA, TPR, TPE and rubber materials. It has a series of characteris-tics such as affordable price, large gas emission, good material compatibility, etc. It is also the most widely used foaming agent in the rubber and plastic industry in the world. At the same time, it processes OBSH foaming agent, TSH foaming agent, RA foam-ing agent, etc.     

NC foaming agent (modified sodium bicarbonate) is an inorganic environmentally friendly endo-thermic foaming agent. It is a white powder and is suitable for extruded board foaming, TPR sole foam-ing, PS line foaming, etc. It can have uniform pores, balanced release and endothermicity, is environmen-tally friendly, and has the advantages of low price.

Physical foaming agent

Expandable microspheres are heat-expandable microspheres, also known as expansion agents, which are core-shell capsules with a diameter of 10-50 microns. The core is a low-boiling hydrocarbon and the shell is a thermoplastic poly-mer. When heated to a certain temperature, the thermoplastic shell will soften, and the alkane inside the shell will gasify and expand. The volume of the microspheres will increase by dozens to hundreds of times, thereby achieving the expansion effect. It is used in textile ink foaming, wallpaper, artificial leather, lightweight clay, PVC blown slippers, TPR sports shoe soles, foaming sealing strips, etc.