Technical Reports

Waterbased Release Systems for a safe Environment and Workplace

Release agents for rubber moulding operations have been in use since the early days of rubber production. Neglected in the beginning as a necessary evil, these materials have developed over time to a much higher technology level, which this paper is going to focus on, as well as on the environmental impact of these systems. 

An Approach to optimise Processing Additives for Silica Compounding

With the introduction of the silica tyre concept to achieve an optimum between wet traction and rolling resistance, the mixing problems involved by incorporating large amounts of silica into rubber compounds created a demand for additives specially designed to solve these problems. The purpose of this paper is to show development approaches to optimize the efficiency of additives for this type of compounding.

Further Developments on metal soaps as processing promoter for the rubber industry

Metal soaps have been for a long time the key product for the improvement of processability in tyre compounding. Originating from the ‘classic’ zinc- and calcium stearate, modifications of the fatty acid base were made to reduce melting points and improve polymer compatibility. The resulting products were mostly zinc based, since calcium soaps tended to be less compatible and showed detrimental effects on the cross linking density. This paper is going to address recent changes and modification concerning the metal base of these materials to improve effectiveness and, consequently, enable the compounder to use lower dosage levels. We are also going to discuss the often confusing number of products in the market and the reasons behind it.