Press Release –
GE Plastics today announced that its Xenoy* 6620U-1001GT and 6620-BK1066GT injection-molding resins have been approved by the California Air Regulations Board (CARB) as an Innovative Product, offering manufacturers the opportunity to avoid tank permeation testing through the use of these materials.
Xenoy 6620-GT resins provide a one-step, monolayer solution to help meet CARB and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards governing vapor emissions from fuel tanks in lawnmowers, snow blowers, personal recreation vehicles, generators, and other off-road equipment. The goal is to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
According to CARB’s Executive Order “It is ordered and resolved that no tank permeation data is required to be submitted in the certification process for equipment using GE’s Xenoy 6620U-1001GT and 6620-BK1066GT resins for an injection-molded fuel tank.”
This designation means companies using the GE material to mold small-engine fuel tanks with an average nominal wall thickness of 2.5 mm or greater, following process and material specifications as set out in Component Executive Order C-U-07-007, will be recognized as approved by CARB after submission – without the need to undergo costly and lengthy tank permeation tests.
“With this significant regulatory milestone, our Xenoy 6620-GT resins have become the only non-rotomolded solution currently recognized by CARB as an Innovative Product,” said Craig Williams, industry manager, Transportation at GE Plastics. “The simplicity and speed of injection-molding our materials is a sharp contrast to the complexity of traditional approaches such as multilayer extrusion blow molding. And by avoiding the need for tank-by-tank tests or group tests, manufacturers can cut cycle times even more.”
Xenoy 6620-GT resins avoid the high costs of traditional multilayer extrusion blow-molding processes, as well as the cost and time required for secondary fluorination of conventional monolayer molded tanks.
The materials also provide an outstanding balance of mechanical performance and weatherability, including excellent UV stability, and high- and low-temperature ductility. Xenoy 6620U-1001GT resin is available in natural, and Xenoy 6620-BK 1066GT resin is available in black.
Both resin grades not only comply with the current 2007/08 CARB standard, which limits fuel vapor emissions to 2.5g/m2/day for small off-road engines, but also comply with the tighter 2011/12 limit of 1.5g/m2/day. CARB requirements are becoming the de facto industry standard.
In addition, GE Plastics’ Xenoy X6800BM blow-molding resins are currently undergoing evaluation by CARB with the expectation that they will also receive approval as an Innovative Product for blow molding small-engine fuel tanks.
GE’s Xenoy 6620-GT injection-molding resins and Xenoy X6800BM blow-molding resins are available globally.
