Plastics & Rubber

Lanxess edge for tyre industry

Specialty chemicals company Lanxess has introduced new solutions for the tyre market ranging from new rubber products and additives to processing aids for use in production.

The innovations include two innovative SSBR product developments: Buna FX 3234A-2HM and Buna VSL 3038-2HM. These high-performance rubber products offer tyre manufacturers even better options for producing energy-efficient tyres with low rolling resistance.

These new rubber products are presented as alternatives to Buna VSL 2438-2HM, used so widely at present in the tyre industry. Buna FX 3234A-2HM is the first rubber product in the newly established Buna FX family, and is to be followed by others. The functionalised SSBR grade displays improved polymer/filler interaction in the tread mix, which reduces hysteresis and therefore the rolling resistance of the tyres. Grip also has been improved. The product’s glass transition temperature Tg is -30 °C.

Lanxess simultaneously is investigating other technologies for functionalising rubber to further enhance the properties of these mixes.

The second new rubber grade, Buna VSL 3038-2HM, expands the existing Buna VSL family. It is an oil-extended SSBR with a 38 per cent styrene content and 30 per cent vinyl content. Its glass transition temperature Tg is 6 °C higher at -26 °C, meaning it can, as expected, provide better grip properties without compromising on rolling resistance. Better grip can be exploited to reduce tread wear, while at the same time achieving outstanding friction coefficients. The higher glass transition temperature of Buna VSL 3038-2HM makes it possible, for example, to add more NdBR to the compound, such as Buna CB 24, and thus raise the friction coefficients to a level comparable to that of Buna VSL 2438-2HM or Buna VSL 5025-2HM. The wear resistance of the tread increases significantly as a result.

After the addition of 37.5 phr TDAE oil, Buna FX 3234A-2HM as well as Buna VSL 3038-2HM display a Mooney viscosity of 80 MU – a high value that additionally ensures excellent abrasion resistance. The high styrene content of 34 or 38 per cent promotes high dynamic stiffness, making these rubber products ideal for high-performance summer tyres.

Both solutions were introduced by the newly formed Lanxess Tyres & Specialty Rubbers business unit at the Tyre Technology Expo held in Cologne last month.

 

OTHER LANXESS PRODUCTS
The Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives business unit exhibited products from its extensive portfolio, such as eco-friendly Rhenodiv release agents, Rhenomark tyre marking paints, the well-known anti-reversion agent Perkalink 900 and the crosslinking additive Vulcuren.

Selected types of Rhenoshape tyre curing bladders are equipped with a permanent coating of Rhenodiv BC, which enables tyres to be produced without the use of an additional release agent. These permanently coated bladders provide tyre manufacturers with more options for optimising efficiency, quality and safety in production. This is particularly advantageous in the production of highly complex products, such as tyres with self-sealing, run-on-flat tyres and tyres with reduced-noise properties.

Rhenodiv release agents are under constant development to meet the demands of tyre manufacturers.

Batch-off release agents, for example, are supplied in either powder or emulsion form. Because handling of powders is associated with extensive fly loss and clean-up, the Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives business unit developed Rhenodiv BO-3300 Pearls, a batch-off release agent in pellet form.

This new release agent, with its innovative form of supply, is easily dispersed in water and just as effective as the powder version.

Rhenomark tyre marking inks are an eco-friendly solution for colour-coding tyres. They are known for their brilliance both before and after vulcanisation.

Perkalink 900, the proven anti-reversion agent, and Vulcuren, a curing agent for producing reversion-resistant vulcanisates, are prominent examples of specialty tyre products from the Lanxess portfolio.

Manufacturing “green” tyre compounds is a challenge for the compounding process, which can best be met with special processing promoters, such as Aflux 37 and Vulkanol P. These products help to homogeneously distribute the silica in the compound and to improve filler/polymer interaction.