Propylene based systems for high voltage cable insulation applications

Crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) remains the material of choice for extruded high voltage cables, possessing excellent thermo-mechanical and electrical properties. However, it is not easily recyclable posing questions as to its long term sustainability. Whilst both polyethylene and polypropylene are widely recycled and provide excellent dielectric properties, polypropylene has significantly better mechanical integrity at high temperatures than polyethylene. However, while isotactic polypropylene is too stiff at room temperature for incorporation into a cable system, previous studies by the authors have indicated that this limitation can be overcome by using a propylene-ethylene copolymer. Whilst these previous studies considered unrelated systems, the current study aims to quantify the usefulness of a series of related random propylene-ethylene co-polymers and assesses their potential for replacing XLPE.