Sealants for IG Units. Performance Parameters and Requirements

Dr. G. Schmidt

Insulating glass (IG) units significantly are contrib-uting
to fuel savings and the reduction of energy
waste. Thus, the challenges of environmental care
and green house gas (CO2) reduction are supported
by high-quality IG.
IG sealants have to meet manifold requirements
such as ease of handling, efficiency, safety, cure
profile, adhesion, elasticity, durability, noble gas or
moisture vapour transmission rates (MVTR) and
environmental friendliness. Noble gases used in IG
units are Argon (Ar), Krypton (Kr) or Xenon (Xe).
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) performs very similar. Ar-gon
widely is used due to availability and price.
Polymeric raw materials for IG sealants (secondary
seals) such as Polysulfides, PUR or Silicones
strongly contribute to the success of today's IG
systems. Among these polymers, Polysulfides have
by far the largest market share in Europe (ca. 82%).
The reason for the long success story of Polysul-fide-
based IG sealants is mainly the fact that cus-tomer
expectations technically and economically
are fulfilled for major IG applications. Niche applica-tions
like frameless overhead glazing or structural
glazing are settled by other polymeric raw materials.

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