EPDM, ethylene-propylene-diene: international price

What this heading covers

Heading 400270 is non-conjugated ethylene-propylene-diene in primary forms. Three monomers, and the third is the one that matters: ethylene and propylene form long, smooth chains that on their own would slide past each other and stay deformed once stretched.

The diene acts as a cross-link. On vulcanising, it ties chains to one another and builds a three-dimensional network: that is why the material stretches underfoot and returns to shape. Without that third monomer you would have a plastic, not a rubber.

Why it costs more than SBR

The EPDM backbone is saturated: it has no free double bonds left for ozone and ultraviolet radiation to attack. That is precisely what SBR lacks.

Hence EPDM being the material of running tracks, playgrounds and any surface meant to spend ten years outdoors without cracking or shifting colour. You pay for that resistance, and with it comes a wide, stable colour palette that pigmented SBR cannot hold under sun.

What to check before requesting a quote

Diene content and the ethylene-to-propylene split define cure speed and final hardness. They are the two figures that separate one grade from another within the same heading.

On site, the number most often overlooked is the EPDM polymer content of the finished granulate. A surface sold as “EPDM” may carry 20% polymer or considerably less, the rest being mineral filler. The difference is invisible on delivery day and plain three years later. Specify it in writing, with a minimum.

And count the lead time before committing to a date: it is imported material and the typical cycle from order runs around three months. In peak season, not every colour is available either.