Lanxess to share latest rubber research at Tire Technology Expo

In addition to showcasing its latest tyre industry developments at next month’s Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany, the Tire and Specialty Rubbers (TSR) business unit of specialty chemicals company Lanxess will deliver two presentations on research into potential ways to further optimise tyre rubber compound.

Lanxess says the focal point of its presence at this year’s show (Stand C112) will most likely be the “opportunities and possible improvements” resulting from functionalised tyre rubber such as S-SBR and NdBR. Lanxess technical manager Thomas Rünzi will give a detailed presentation on this topic.

Lanxess has already launched functionalised S-SBR rubber grades onto the market under the Buna FX name and is now currently testing a number of new variants. These are the subject of Rünzi’s presentation, which is titled ‘In-chain and chain-end functionalised S-SBR and NdBRs for green tyre applications’. Rünzi will discuss moving beyond chain-end functionalised rubber to variants with functional groups that are distributed along the polymer chain.

By their very nature, the density of potential anchor points in these rubber grades is higher than those in the standard chain-end functionalised variants. Rünzi will share on the results of a Lanxess study on the properties that silica compounds obtain from various combinations of the new, differently functionalised S-SBR rubber. He will also describe initial tests on the company’s multi-functionalised NdBR rubber.

The second Lanxess presentation will be given by process specialist Saeid Kheirandish and demonstrates how the TSR business unit’s support for processors extends beyond the further development of raw materials to include process optimisation. The presentation is titled ‘New insights into processing of neodymium-based rubber grades by Lanxess’ and reports on Kheirandish’s investigations into the compound properties of the NdBR grades Buna CB22 and Buna Nd22EZ, paying specific attention to the development of the compound’s Mooney viscosity during processing. Kheirandish sheds particular light on the compound properties of the NdBR variants used in combination with natural rubber and the process temperature. Lanxess notes that Buna CB22 and Buna Nd22EZ are frequently used in tyre compounds to achieve good performance combined with low rolling resistance.