Dow claims olefin "breakthrough".

The Dow Chemical Company (www.dow.com) is calling a new olefin elastomers it has developed a "breakthrough." Called INFUSE Olefin Block Copolymers (OBCs), they're said to provide performance and properties beyond current olefin elastomers, including high-temperature performance, abrasion resistance, elasticity and compression set properties at room and elevated temperatures, and fast setup in processing for reduced cycle times. To create these elastomers Dow personnel used a proprietary process called "INSITE," which allows the control of the molecular architecture so that they're able to produce the olefin block structure as a continuous process, all of which means they're able to create the materials with the aforementioned properties. Applications for the materials include profile extrude products, hoses, and tubes.