BASF products used for Olympic gear
Many BASF products will be used for items appearing at the Beijing Olympics, including sportswear, footwear and even artificial turf.
Some of the shoes worn will include Elastollan, a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer made by BASF subsidiary Elastogran. Among other things it is used for soles, protective caps, stiffening and damping elements, helping to keep shoes flexible, light and stress-resistant.
In terms of sportswear, many athletes will wear clothing made using the intermediate PolyTHF, an important component of elastan fibres (also known as spandex in the US) that are used to manufacture swimwear and other items. The chemicals company is also developing components for functional textiles, such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is used in breathable sports and leisure wear textiles and polyamide with a sun protection factor of up to 80 that offers protection against harmful UV rays.
