Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is a special engineering plastic with excellent performance, which has many significant advantages compared to other special engineering plastics, such as high temperature resistance, excellent mechanical properties, good self-lubrication, hydrolysis resistance, and ease of processing.

The oil and gas industry has recognized PEEK’s advantages for components used in downhole equipment where PEEK is specified for seals, valve seats, insulators, and electrical connectors.

Typical characteristics of PEEK

(1) Processability: PEEK resin has the advantages of good high-temperature fluidity and high thermal decomposition temperature. It can be processed by injection molding, extrusion molding, molding, blow molding, melt spinning, rotary molding, and powder spraying.

(2) Radiation resistance: It has extremely strong radiation resistance at high doses γ The mechanical properties under radiation can still be relatively intact, surpassing the radiation resistant polystyrene with the best radiation resistance among general resins, and can be used as radiation resistant parts in nuclear equipment.

(3) Flame retardancy: PEEK has self-extinguishing properties, which can reach the UL standard 94V-0 level even without any flame retardants.

(4) Creep resistance: A material that undergoes permanent deformation over a period of time under constant stress is known as creep. PEEK is the best creep resistant material for thermoplastic resins.

(5) Toughness and rigidity: It has high tensile strength, high stress cracking strength, and particularly outstanding fatigue resistance under alternating stress, comparable to alloy materials.

(6) Self lubrication (wear resistance): PEEK has excellent sliding characteristics, suitable for applications where low friction coefficient and wear resistance are strictly required; In particular, PEEK modified with carbon fiber, graphite, and PTFE has excellent wear resistance.

(7) High temperature resistance: PEEK has a high glass transition temperature (Tg=143 ℃) and melting point (Tm=334 ℃), with a load thermal deformation temperature of up to 316 ℃, a long-term use temperature of 260 ℃, and an instantaneous use temperature of up to 300 ℃. It does not lose any physical properties during long-term operation under high temperature and pressure.

Chemical resistance is one of the most notable attributes of PEEK. The high-performance thermoplastics’ unique 2:1 ratio of ether (E) to ketone (K) ratio imparts superior chemical resistance over other polyetherketones such as PEK, PAEK and PEKEKK. Its ability to withstand long-term exposure to a remarkably wide range of chemicals has led to many applications where it replaced metals for longer service life in aggressive environments such as downhole equipment in the oil and gas industry.

(9) Non toxic: Can be used in food hygiene, medical devices, and other fields.

(10) Corrosion resistance: Except for concentrated sulfuric acid, PEEK is insoluble in any solvent, strong acid, or alkali, and has high chemical stability.

(11) Fatigue resistance: PEEK has the best fatigue resistance among all thermoplastic resin materials.

The Energy industry demands materials that are capable to resist both to high and cryogenic temperatures, to high pressure, that offer high mechanical strength, chemical resistance and are suitable for the most extreme environments. Modern premium grades F10PTFE and F10HPP - High Performance Polymers – like natural and filled PTFE, modified PTFE, PEEK, have a major contribution towards the improvement of the existing solutions in the Energy industry thanks to their great range of benefits.

JST Seals has significantly invested in technologies and development to find innovative solutions to new technical challenges. With our know-how in transforming materials, from powders to finished products, we can meet the specific requirements of the Energy industry, suitable for a wide range of applications.

In addition to this, our products are tested in accordance with API/6A and NORSOK M-710, which verifies the material's resistance to the severe conditions of the environment it will be exposed to. Typical applications for the Energy industry can benefit from the weight reduction and the extended mechanical, physical and chemical properties, not to mention temperature resistance, both from high to cryogenic ones, provided by these materials.

Application possibilities for PEEK continue to expand with the development of new classes of the ultra high-performance thermoplastic.