High VA EVA: 33% and 40% VA grades for cable compounds, hot melts and sealants

33% vs 40% VA: what changes

Each step up in VA lowers crystallinity. The resin gets softer, more polar and more rubbery, takes more filler and tackifier, and melts lower. The table compares typical values from public data sheets. For how EVA lines up across the whole range, see EVA by vinyl acetate content.

Typical values from public producer data sheets for specific grades. Confirm the exact grade on its data sheet and lot COA.

32–33% VA grades by melt index

All MI values are at 190°C / 374°F, 2.16 kg. Trade names are examples only and belong to their owners. We use them to show what is on public sheets, not to offer a brand.

Examples from producers' public grade lists. Some values are stated as estimates or by producer methods. Families, names and availability change.

40% VA grades by melt index

Fewer producers make 40% VA EVA than 28% or 33%, and most 40% grades are high flow. Low-MI 40% grades for cable exist but are few.

Examples from producers' public grade lists. Confirm the current data sheet.

• Hot melts and sealants. 40% VA gives the most tack, adhesion to nonporous and polar surfaces, and low-temperature flexibility in the EVA family, at the cost of heat resistance and set speed.
• Wax and bitumen modification. 40% VA grades are listed for wax blends. Bitumen modification more often uses about 18–28% VA grades, so check which VA your binder spec names.
• Modifier. High-VA EVA and EVM are used to flexibilize and toughen other plastics, especially PVC, where they act as a polymeric modifier. Ask us before assuming a grade suits your blend.

HFFR cable compounds and semiconductive shields

HFFR (LSZH) compounds load EVA with roughly 55–70% aluminum or magnesium hydroxide, often more than 60%. Many base grades run at about 26–28% VA. Compounders move to 32–33% VA when they need more filler acceptance, a softer compound or more char. For layers, fire tests and UL files, see wire and cable compounds.

• Why 33%. More VA means a more polar, less crystalline polymer that wets and holds more mineral filler and keeps more elongation at high loading. One EVM producer notes that higher VA also raises the limiting oxygen index of filled compounds.
• What it costs you. A softer compound with lower heat resistance and tensile strength, and more pellet blocking in storage. Many recipes blend 33% EVA with lower-VA EVA, PE or POE to balance this.
• MI choice. Lower MI (about 18–25) holds tensile strength at high filler loads. About 45 mixes and extrudes more easily. High-flow grades are mostly too weak for cable on their own.
• Strippable shields. 33% and 40% VA grades appear on producer sheets as bases for strippable semiconductive shields on medium-voltage cable. We do not supply medium-voltage cable compounds. We can quote the base EVA to compounders, case by case.
• Coupling. A maleic anhydride-grafted polymer or a surface-treated filler ties the mineral to the EVA. See maleic anhydride grafted polyolefins.
• Listings. If the compound is named in a UL or CSA file, a base-resin change may need retesting. Plan the trial before the switch.

High VA EVA in hot melts and sealants

Most hot melts use about 28% VA. Formulators reach for 33% and 40% when they need softer, more flexible and tackier adhesives, or adhesion to plastics and metals. For tackifiers, waxes, viscosity and food-packaging rules, see hot melt EVA.

• Bookbinding and flexible bonds. 28–33% VA at lower MI, about 25–150, for flexibility and cold crack resistance.
• Product assembly and sealants. About 28–40% VA, with the higher end chosen for adhesion to plastics and metals and flexibility in the cold.
• Wax compatibility. As VA rises, compatibility with paraffin wax falls, so high-VA formulas often lean on microcrystalline wax and tackifiers that suit polar polymers. Check cloud point with your wax.
• Heat resistance. DSC melting point falls from about 60–63°C / 140–145°F at 32–33% VA to about 47–52°C / 117–126°F for 40% VA hot-melt grades. Check heat and creep resistance for the end use.
• Solvent adhesives and inks. 40% VA grades dissolve more readily in common solvents, and one producer lists its 40% grade for solvent-based adhesives and inks.

Pellet blocking, anti-block dusting and cool storage

High VA pellets are soft and sticky, and they fuse under their own weight when warm. This is the most common receiving problem with 33% and 40% EVA.

• Additives. Many grades carry an amide or a mineral dusting, or a free-flowing agent, to keep pellets apart. One family marks these with a W suffix; another lists a "free flowing agent" on the sheet. Say on the RFQ if dusting would harm your compound, film or adhesive.
• Cool storage. One EVA producer recommends storing at about 10–25°C / 50–77°F and never above 35°C / 95°F, out of direct sun. A rubber producer says its dusted 40% VA EVM granules tend to block above about 25°C / 77°F. Plan for a cool warehouse in summer, not a hot trailer yard.
• Stacking. Both producers advise against stacking pallets (the EVA producer says no double-stacking, the EVM producer says no stacking), because static load packs soft pellets. Use first in, first out.
• Shipping. In summer, ask about transit time and trailer conditions. Blocked bags can often be broken up, but they slow feeders and can bridge in hoppers.
• Molecular weight helps. Low-MI grades hold their shape better. One 40% VA, 3 MI grade is described by its producer as free flowing.
• Shelf life. Ask for the producer’s storage and shelf-life guidance for the exact grade, and plan to use high-VA pellets in order of receipt. See resin shelf life.

From about 40% VA: where EVA ends and EVM begins

Plastic-grade EVA is made at high pressure, sold as pellets by melt index, and bought through resin channels. From about 40% VA, the copolymer behaves more and more like a rubber. These grades, called EVM, are made by solution polymerization, run from about 40% up to about 90% VA, and are specified by Mooney viscosity rather than melt index. The two overlap at 40%: one rubber producer sells a 40% VA EVM as dusted granules, rated by Mooney viscosity, alongside 40% VA EVA pellets from plastics producers.

• Different buyer and supply chain. EVM goes into vulcanized cable insulation and sheathing, seals, belts, flooring and footwear, and into PVC and other plastics as a modifier. It is bought from rubber producers and their distributors. This page covers EVA up to about 40% VA.
• Read the spec. If your spec gives a Mooney viscosity instead of a melt index, it is calling for EVM, not plastic-grade EVA. The two are not drop-in swaps even at the same VA.
• Different trade-offs. Rubber producers choose VA in EVM to balance oil resistance, low-temperature flexibility and flame retardance. Below about 40%, raising VA mainly softens the resin and adds filler acceptance and adhesion.
• Ambiguous names. "EVM" can mean the raw rubber or a ready rubber compound. If your spec says EVM, tell us the VA, the Mooney viscosity and whether you need the polymer or a compound before we search.

What moves high VA EVA price and supply

We do not post prices. These are the forces that move a quote for 33% and 40% VA EVA. For EVA as a whole, see EVA price per pound.

• Fewer producers. Not every EVA producer makes grades above 30% VA. Fewer sources mean longer lead times and more exposure to one outage.
• Solar demand. Photovoltaic encapsulant film competes for 28–33% VA capacity, mostly in Asia. Strong solar years can tighten import availability of 33% grades.
• Campaign production. Grades made by few producers are often run in campaigns. Ask about the next production date as well as current availability.
• Feedstocks. Ethylene and vinyl acetate monomer. Higher-VA grades use more VAM per pound.
• Imports, freight and duties. Imported 33% and 40% grades are often offered alongside domestic ones. Ocean freight, port timing, summer heat in transit and duties all change the landed cost.
• Order size. Price per pound steps down from one gaylord to pallets to truckload. See how resin is priced.

What to put on a high VA EVA RFQ

• Current grade. Producer and grade name from your formula or spec sheet, if you have it.
• VA. Nominal and the range you accept, with the method (ASTM D5594 or producer method). For cable compounds, a tight range matters because filler acceptance and hardness follow VA.
• MI. Nominal and range at 190°C / 374°F, 2.16 kg (ASTM D1238). Ask whether high-flow values are measured or estimated.
• End use. HFFR jacket or insulation, semiconductive shield, hot melt, sealant or modifier, and the filler level or formula type. This tells us how close a substitute has to be.
• Gel and cleanliness. For cable and shields, the gel or contaminant limit if your spec has one.
• Additives and dusting. Antioxidant, and whether an anti-block, dusting or free-flowing agent is acceptable.
• Storage and shipping. Whether you can store cool, and any summer shipping limits.
• Documents. COA with every lot, SDS, and any listing or regulatory statements. For food contact, 21 CFR 177.1350 sets no VA ceiling for plain EVA but limits extractives and the additives allowed, so compliance depends on the exact grade: ask for the producer’s letter for it. See resin compliance documents.
• Quantity and package. Order size, yearly use, release pattern, and bags or gaylords. Ship-to city and state or province.
• Sample. A sample from the same lot to qualify before the full order.

Common questions

If your grade is not listed, tell us what you run. We source commodity, engineering and specialty resins.