Teijin Frontier announces a greener tyre cord

Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. claims a world first with the commercialisation of a tyre cord that combines an adhesive that does not contain resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) with a chemically recycled polyester fibre. It will exhibit the newly-developed cord at the International Tire Exhibition and Conference in Akron, USA from 13 to 15 September.

Test production of the tyre cord will begin next year, and the Teijin Group company aims to achieve annual production of 200,000 tonnes by 2030. In addition to tyre cords, Teijin Frontier will begin to develop reinforcing fibre applications for a range of rubber products, including belts and hoses.

Same performance, lower CO2

Substituting RF, a substance harmful to the human body and the environment, for an adhesive polymer compound reduces the environmental impact of adhesive processing. Due to its strong affinity with fibres and rubber, the substance’s adhesion performance is equivalent to that of conventional resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) adhesives. Furthermore, its chemically-recycled fibres are made from polymers produced using a method of chemical recycling, and these maintain their strength, fatigue resistance, dimensional stability and heat resistance.

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions during production, the new tyre cord achieves the same levels of quality and performance compared to conventional tyre cords made from petroleum-derived polyester fibre.

The demand for more eco-friendly tyres is growing, and in response, Teijin Frontier has been actively developing eco-friendly materials and products for tyres as well as other rubber products. In 2008, it launched the world’s first tyre cord incorporating chemically recycled polyester fibre, and in March 2020 the company introduced an eco-friendly rubber-reinforced fibre cord that does not contain RF.