To aid its development of eco-friendly tyres, Hankook Tire & Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with petrochemical company Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (KKPC). Amongst other things, the MoU ensures Hankook Tire is first in line to receive KKPC’s Eco Solution-polymerised Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (Eco-SSBR) at “a fair price” once commercial its production commences in 2026.
The research institute behind Sailun Group’s EcoPoint3 compounding technology has established strategic partnerships with two companies to explore synthetic rubber applications for use in tyre production. EVE Rubber Institute has signed agreements with Ecombine Advanced Materials and Arlanxeo High Performance Elastomer (Changzhou), with the three parties planning to draw upon their respective technological and marketing strengths to deliver innovations in liquid-phase mixing.
Synthos is closing its synthetic rubber Emulsion-SBR (ESBR) production line in the Czech Republic due to “the unsustainable market environment for ESBR due to unpredictable costs in Europe”. Synthos will cease ESBR production at its Kralupy, Czech Republic operation in the second quarter of this year.
Effective November 2022, Asahi Kasei began selling Tufdene S-SBR (solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber) and Asadene BR (butadiene rubber) made using the mass-balance method at Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd. and the synthetic rubber plant of Asahi Kasei’s Kawasaki Works. The sale will be based on the ISCC PLUS certification for S-SBR and BR acquired by Asahi Kasei’s Synthetic Rubber Division in October 2022.
In light of strongly rising energy prices in Europe, chemical firm and synthetic rubber manufacturer Synthos has announced that it can no longer produce Emulsion-SBR (ESBR) at full capacity. It will thus reduce ESBR output by approximately 30%, equivalent to around 100,000 MTPA, effective immediately.
As of April 2022, Koshiro Kudo will assume the role of president of Asahi Kasei, with current president Hideki Kobori becoming the company’s chairman. Asahi Kasei states that with 40 years of corporate experience, the new president will “lead the company into a new century of its history” – the Japanese firm celebrates its 100th anniversary in May.
In response to local government environmental protection measures in the Yangtze River region and with the aim of establishing “one of the most modern NBR plants in the world,” Arlanxeo and TSRC are relocating their joint venture synthetic rubber facility. The move to a new location will be accompanied by an increase in NBR capacity from 30,000 to 40,000 tons per annum, growth that will support local demands and reinforce global supply.
As of 1 December, Bridgestone Corporation has completed selling all shares in its Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The new owner of the business, which manufactures synthetic rubber for passenger car tyres, is Taiwan’s LCY Chemical Corporation. Bridgestone announced the planned sale on 15 June 2021.
Tyre makers have committed themselves to ambitious sustainability goals, and can only achieve these through the use of sustainable raw materials. We’re currently seeing a spate of new plans and projects in this sector, the latest being an agreement that Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corporation concluded with Shell Eastern Petroleum Ltd. yesterday for the supply of butadiene derived from plastic waste and biomass.
Taif Group, the world’s largest producer of isoprene and the Russian Federation’s largest rubber producer, has entered into an agreement with Russian integrated petrochemical company Sibur that finalises the creation of a combined entity that will leverage the facilities of Sibur Holding and create the largest petrochemical company in Russia and one of the biggest in the world.
Agricultural tyres generally appear quite similar irrespective of brand, making it difficult to spot at a glance the difference between discount tyres and higher-priced premium products. Bridgestone observes that price thus “wrongly becomes a differentiating element” with these products. The tyre maker is concerned that some may gain the impression they’re paying extra for the brand rather than the tyre, and wishes to set the record straight.
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it will sell Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd., its China-based subsidiary for manufacturing synthetic car tyre rubber, to Taiwan’s LCY Chemical Corp. The company has not disclosed financial aspects of the transaction.
Russian oil and gas company Tatneft intends to produce butadiene rubbers in Kazakhstan, and the recipients of plant output include Tatneft’s own tyre production businesses.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced a global first, the development of a technology for efficiently producing butadiene from a biomass. It achieved this breakthrough via the ‘Bio-monomer Production Laboratory’, which the company established jointly with Riken and Zeon Corporation.
Synthetic rubber and plastics manufacturer Trinseo has reached definitive agreements with Swiss sustainable tyre recycling specialist Tyre Recycling Solutions (TRS) on a commercial collaboration and an equity investment in TRS. The transaction is expected to close later this quarter, subject to ordinary closing conditions.
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Asahi Kasei