One TPU, Endless Films – Versatile Texin® & Desmopan® For Film & Sheet Innovation.
From Clear Overlays To Tough Liners – TPU That Pulls Double Duty.
Thermoplastic polyurethanes from the Texin® and Desmopan® portfolios give film and sheet designers a rare combination of optical clarity, mechanical toughness and processing versatility so a single material family can cover everything from transparent protective films to medical tubing and heavy-duty belting. These grades were developed to hold up under demanding use – resisting yellowing and weathering in outdoor applications while offering the tear, puncture and abrasion performance that industrial and consumer products require.
The Market Challenge: One Part, Many Expectations
Designers of films and sheets face a long list of requirements that are often in tension: optics and color stability for aesthetic parts, hydrolytic and chemical resistance for long-life industrial components, and biocompatibility plus sterilization compatibility for healthcare applications. At the same time, converters need grades that process reliably on extrusion, blown film, calendering and thermoforming lines so qualification time and waste are kept to a minimum. Meeting all of these constraints with one polymer family – and doing so while moving toward more circular raw material options – is the central market challenge Texin® and Desmopan® were created to solve.
Our Solution: One Portfolio, Many Tuned Benefits
Covestro approaches the problem by offering a broad set of TPU chemistries and product series that are tuned to specific film and sheet needs. Ether- and ester-based Texin® grades deliver combinations of elongation, tensile strength and hydrolytic stability that suit everything from flexible medical tubing to abrasion-resistant industrial membranes, while Desmopan® aliphatic and carbonate grades add exceptional optical clarity and long-term UV resistance for paint protection films and transparent overlays. Both portfolios include extrusion-optimized and blown-film grades that are designed to facilitate scale-up and line changes, raw materials suitable for medical applications (Rx medical grade series) that support manufacturers in achieving low extractable properties and compatibility with common sterilization methods, and a developing range of options aligned with circular economy principles. These include products with ISCC+ certified feedstock attributed via mass-balance methodology (BMB), products containing partially recycled content, and products with partly bio-based components. The specific sustainability attributes and percentages vary by grade, and detailed technical information is available upon request.
With Texin® and Desmopan®, we give manufacturers a single material family that solves multiple film- and sheet-level problems – from optical clarity and UV resistance to medical-grade purity and improved recyclability. That reduces design compromise and speeds time to market.
Technical Highlights That Matter In Processing And Performance
Texin® and Desmopan® grades show a wide operating window that reduces processing headaches: some grades are specifically enhanced for extrusion, others for blown film or calendering, and many exhibit natural adhesion to common substrates that lowers the need for primers in multi-layer constructions. Mechanically, the portfolios span soft, highly elastic grades with very high elongation for cushioning and wearable films, through to semi-rigid and high-tensile options that resist cutting, tearing and long-term abrasion. Aliphatic and specially formulated UV-stable grades deliver color stability and clarity for outdoor, visible applications, while ether chemistries offer excellent hydrolytic stability for humid or warm environments – a crucial property for medical and industrial uses where long term exposure to fluids is expected.
Real Applications: Where TPUs Add Value
In paint-protection films and clear technical laminates, aliphatic Desmopan® grades preserve transparency and resist yellowing, extending aesthetic life. For cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liners, protective membranes and belting, ester and hybrid Texin® grades supply the abrasion resistance and oil/chemical tolerance that keep parts performing in the field. Medical films and tubing benefit from the Rx medical grade series, which are formulated for ISO 10993 biocompatibility, compatibility with common sterilization methods and low extractables to support regulatory workflows. Footwear, wearable electronics and flexible consumer components take advantage of grades that combine soft-touch feel with durability and reliable bonding in multilayer constructions.
A Practical Promise: Performance, Processing And More Sustainability
What this portfolio delivers in practice is threefold. First, design freedom: engineers can select TPUs across a broad hardness and elongation spectrum to achieve soft, protective or semi-structural films from the same family of materials. Second, fewer process headaches: grades engineered for extrusion, blown film and calendering reduce line trials and speed time to part qualification. Third, an improved lifecycle profile: an expanding set of partly recycled, bio-based and bio-circular options lets manufacturers improve the circularity of their products without giving up technical performance. These advantages are supported by Covestro’s material data, testing capabilities and supply network so teams can move from a concept to validated production with confidence.
Key benefits
- Process Versatility: Grades tuned for extrusion, blown film, calendering and thermoforming.
- Optical Clarity: Aliphatic/carbonate grades maintain transparency and resist yellowing.
- Mechanical Strength: High tensile, tear and abrasion resistance for long service life.
- Medical Readiness: Rx grades with low extractables; compatible with common sterilization.
- Circular Options: ISCC+, party recycled and bio-circular grades for improved lifecycle performance.
