Nitrile Rubber (NBR)

Nitrile Rubber (NBR)

Properties and Applications
Nitrile Rubber (NBR) is commonly considered the workhorse of the industrial and automotive rubber products industries. NBR is actually a complex family of unsaturated copolymers of acrylonitrile and butadiene. By selecting an elastomer with the appropriate acrylonitrile content in balance with other properties,

the rubber compounder can use NBR in a wide variety of application areas requiring oil, fuel, and chemical resistance. In the automotive area, NBR is used in fuel and oil handling hose, seals and grommets, and water handling applications.

With a temperature range of –40C to +125C, NBR materials can withstand all but the most severe automotive applications. On the industrial side NBR finds uses in roll covers, hydraulic hoses, conveyor belting, graphic arts, oil field packers, and seals for all kinds of plumbing and appliance applications. Worldwide consumption of NBR is expected to reach 368,000 metric tons annually by the year 2005[1].
Like most unsaturated thermoset elastomers, NBR requires formulating with added ingredients, and further processing to make useful articles. Additional ingredients typically include reinforcement fillers, plasticizers, protectants, and vulcanization packages. Processing includes mixing, pre-forming to required shape, application to substrates, extrusion, and vulcanization to make the finished rubber article. Mixing and processing are typically performed on open mills, internal mixers, extruders, and calenders. Finished products are found in the marketplace as injection or transfer molded products (seals and grommets), extruded hose or tubing, calendered sheet goods (floor mats and industrial belting), or various sponge articles. Figure 1 shows some typical molded and extruded rubber products.

KRYNAC (NBR) Lanxess products

Rubber wristbands

Rubber Wrist Bands

If you have not noticed, rubber wrist bands have become very popular over the past two years. Thousands of people are wearing these wrist bands as a way of showing their pride for something, or simply as a fashion statement. There are so many different colors and style being worn by people from all over the world that it can sometimes be very difficult to figure out what is what.
If you see somebody with a rubber wrist band on, the thing that you need to look for is the color. Each color represents something different. But if this was not complicated enough, there are also companies that make custom rubber wristbands for anybody that wants to order them. This means that anybody can order a rubber wristband to read whatever they want and in whatever color they want.
But as a basic rule of thumb, there are certain colors that represent certain things. The colors are as follows:
Pink Bracelets are usually worn as a cancer awareness band. Often times, you will also notice that the pink wristbands also have words on them such as “Find a cure.” These are meant to spread the word about how dangerous cancer can be.
If you see somebody that is wearing a rainbow bracelet, this usually means that they are trying to demonstrate gay pride. These are some of the more common custom wristbands that are around.
Red bracelets are often times worn by people that are trying to spread AIDS or heart disease awareness. In addition, red is also the color that is worn by military families. If you are having a hard time deciphering between the two you will want to look at the words that are imprinted on the band.
Red, white, and blue bands are pretty self explanatory; they show patriotism and love for the United States.
Yellow bracelets are among the most popular in the world thanks to Lance Armstrong. These wristbands are meant to raise cancer awareness and have the words “Live Strong” imprinted on them. Millions of these bracelets have been sold all over the world, and sales are still soaring.
If you are looking to buy a wristband, you should be aware that they come in a number of different materials. The two most popular are rubber and silicon wristbands. If you are placing an order with a specialty company, make sure that you specify the material that you want. Custom silicon wristbands are not as common as rubber, so if you want these you will need to ask for them.
Overall, rubber wrist bands are very popular all over the world. Regardless of where you are at, you are sure to see at least a few people that are sporting these bands.

Rubber band

Rubber band

Five rubber bands
A rubber band (in some regions known as a binder, elastic band, lackey band, "laggy band" or gumband) is a short length of rubber and latex formed in the shape of a loop. Such bands are typically used to hold multiple objects together. Some are used as weapons. The rubber band was patented in Australia

Rubber Band
Background
Rubber bands are one of the most convenient products of the twentieth century, used by numerous individuals and industries for a wide variety of purposes. The largest consumer of rubber bands in the world is the U.S. Post Office, which orders millions of pounds a year to use in sorting and delivering piles of mail. The newspaper industry also uses massive quantities of rubber bands to keep individual newspapers rolled or folded together before home delivery. Yet another large consumer is the agricultural products industry. The flower industry buys rubber bands to hold together bouquets or uses delicate bands around the petals of flowers (especially tulips) to keep them from opening in transit. Vegetables such as celery are frequently bunched together with rubber bands, and the plastic coverings over berries, broccoli, and cauliflower are often secured with rubber bands. All in all, more than 30 million pounds of rubber bands are sold in the United States alone each year.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing process is a complicated one which involves extruding the rubber into a long tube to provide its general shape, putting the tubes on mandrels and curing the rubber with heat, and then slicing it along the width of the tube into little bands.[1][2] While other rubber products may use synthetic rubber, rubber bands are still primarily manufactured using natural rubber because of its superior elasticity.
Processing the natural latex
1 The initial stage of manufacturing the harvested latex usually takes place on the rubber plantation, prior to packing and shipping. The first step in processing the latex is purification, which entails straining it to remove the other constituent elements apart from rubber and to filter out impurities such as tree sap and debris.
2 The purified rubber is now collected in large vats. Combined with acetic or formic acid, the rubber particles cling together to form slabs.
3 Next, the slabs are squeezed between rollers to remove excess water and pressed into bales or blocks, usually 2 or 3 square feet (.6 or .9 square meter), ready for shipping to factories. The size of the blocks depends on what the individual plantation can accommodate.
Mixing and milling
4 The rubber is then shipped to a rubber factory. Here, the slabs are machine cut (or chopped) into small pieces. Next, many manufacturers use a Banbury Mixer, invented in 1916 by Femely H. Banbury. This machine mixes the rubber with other ingredients—sulfur to vulcanize it, pigments to color it, and other chemicals to increase or diminish the elasticity of the resulting rubber bands. Although some companies don't add these ingredients until the next stage (milling), the Banbury machine integrates them more thoroughly, producing a more uniform product.
5 Milling, the next phase of production, entails heating the rubber (a blended mass if it has been mixed, discrete pieces if it has not) and squeezing it flat in a milling machine.
Extrusion
6 After the heated, flattened rubber leaves the milling machine, it is cut into strips. Still hot from the milling, the strips are then fed into an extruding machine which forces the rubber out in long, hollow tubes (much as a meat grinder produces long strings of meat). Excess rubber regularly builds up around the head of each extruding machine, and this rubber is cut off, collected, and placed back with the rubber going into the milling machine.
Curing
7 The tubes of rubber are then forced over aluminum poles called mandrels, which have been covered with talcum powder to keep the rubber from sticking. Although the rubber has already been vulcanized, it's rather brittle at this point, and needs to be "cured" before it is elastic and usable. To accomplish this, the poles are loaded onto racks that are steamed and heated in large machines.
8 Removed from the poles and washed to remove the talcum powder, the tubes of rubber are fed into another machine that slices them into finished rubber bands. Rubber bands are sold by weight, and, because they tend to clump together, only small quantities can be weighed accurately by machines. Generally, any package over 5 pounds (2.2 kilograms) can be loaded by machine but will still require manual weighing and adjusting.

EPDM rubber

EPDM rubber

(ethylene propylene diene M-class rubber) is an elastomer which is characterized by wide range of applications.The E refers to Ethylene, P to Propylene, D to diene and M refers to its classification in ASTM standard D-1418. The “M” class includes rubbers having a saturated chain of the polymethylene type. The diene(s) currently used in the manufacture of EPDM rubbers are DCPD (dicyclopentadiene), ENB (ethylidene norbornene) and VNB (vinyl norbornene).
The ethylene content is around 45% to 75%. The higher the ethylene content the higher the loading possibilities of the polymer, better mixing and extrusion. During peroxide curing these polymers give a higher crosslink density compared with their amorphous counterpart. The amorphous polymer are also excellent in processing. This is very much influenced by their molecular structure. The diene content can vary between 2.5wt% up to 12wt%.

EPDM rubber is used in vibrators and seals; glass-run channel; radiator, garden and appliance hose; tubing; washers; belts; electrical insulation, and speaker cone surrounds. It is also used as a medium for water resistance in high-voltage polymeric cable jointing installations, roofing membrane, geomembranes, rubber mechanical goods, plastic impact modification, thermoplastic, vulcanizates, as a motor oil additive, pond liner, electrical cable-jointing, RV roofs, and chainmail applications.
EPDM exhibits satisfactory compatibility with fireproof hydraulic fluids, ketones, hot and cold water, and alkalis, and unsatisfactory compatibility with most oils, gasoline, kerosene, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, halogenated solvents, and concentrated acids.
The main properties of EPDM are its outstanding heat, ozone and weather resistance. The resistance to polar substances and steam are also good. It has excellent electrical properties. It has the ability to retain light colour.

Butyl rubber (IIR)

BUTYL RUBBER

Properties and Applications
Butyl rubber (IIR) is the copolymer of isobutylene and a small amount of isoprene. First commercialized in 1943, the primary attributes of butyl rubber are excellent impermeability/air retention and good flex properties, resulting from low levels of unsaturation between long polyisobutylene segments. Tire innertubes were the first major use of butyl rubber, and this continues to be a significant market today.
The development of halogenated butyl rubber (halobutyl) in the 1950's and 1960's greatly extended the usefulness of butyl by providing much higher curing rates and enabling co-vulcanization with general purpose rubbers such as natural rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). These properties permitted development of more durable tubeless tires with the air retaining innerliner chemically bonded to the body of the tire. Tire innerliners are by far the largest application for halobutyl today. Both chlorinated (chlorobutyl) and brominated (bromobutyl) versions of halobutyl are commercially available. In addition to tire applications, butyl and halobutyl rubbers' good impermeability, weathering resistance, ozone resistance, vibration dampening, and stability make them good materials for pharmaceutical stoppers, construction sealants, hoses, and mechanical goods. The total annual demand for Butyl Polymers is ~650,000 Metric Tons.
Photomicrograph of Tire Innerliner
Innerliner
Chemistry and Manufacturing Process
Butyl Rubber typically contains about 98% polyisobutylene with 2% isoprene distributed randomly in the polymer chain. To achieve high molecular weight, the reaction must be controlled at low temperatures (-90 to -100 degC). The reaction is highly exothermic. The most commonly used polymerization process uses methyl chloride as the reaction diluent and boiling liquid ethylene to remove the heat of reaction and maintain the needed temperature. It is also possible to polymerize butyl in alkane solutions and in bulk reaction. A variety of Lewis acids
1
can be used to initiate the polymerization. The molecular weight of butyl is set primarily by controlling the initiation and chain transfer rates.
C
In the most widely used manufacturing process, a slurry of fine particles of butyl rubber (dispersed in methyl chloride) is formed in the reactor. The methyl chloride and unreacted monomers are flashed and stripped overhead by addition of steam and hot water, and then they are dried and purified in preparation for recycle to the reactor. Slurry aid (zinc or calcium stearate) and antioxidant are introduced to the hot water/polymer slurry to stabilize the polymer and prevent agglomeration. Then the polymer is screened from the hot water slurry and dried in a series of extrusion dewatering and drying steps. Fluid bed conveyors and/or airvey systems are used to cool the product to acceptable packaging temperature. The resultant dried product is in the form of small "crumbs", which are subsequently weighed and compressed into 75 lb. bales for wrapping in PE film and packaging.

Butyl Molecule
Commercial Butyl Slurry Polymerization Process
2
The polymerization process for halobutyl is exactly the same as for non-halogenated butyl. Prior to halogenation, the butyl must be dissolved in a suitable solvent (hexane, pentane, etc...) and all unreacted monomer removed. Several different processes are currently used to prepare butyl solution for halogenation. Either reactor effluent polymer, in-process rubber crumb, or butyl product bales may be dissolved in solvent in preparation for halogenation.
Bromine liquid or chlorine vapor is added to the butyl solution in highly agitated reaction vessels. One mole of hydrobromic or hydrochloric acid is released for every mole of halogen that reacts, therefore the reaction solution must be neutralized with caustic (NaOH). The solvent is then flashed and stripped by steam/hot water, with calcium stearate added to prevent polymer agglomeration. The resultant polymer/water slurry is screened, dried, cooled, and packaged in a process similar to that of unhalogenated butyl.
BrBr
Cl
Minor Halobutyl Isomers
Most Abundant Halobutyl Isomer
Processing and Vulcanization
Like other rubbers, for most applications, butyl rubber must be compounded and vulcanized (chemically cross-linked) to yield useful, durable end use products. Grades of Butyl have been developed to meet specific processing and property needs, and a range of molecular weights, unsaturation, and cure rates are commercially available. Both the end use attributes and the processing equipment are important in determining the right grade of Butyl to use in a specific application. The selection and ratios of the proper fillers, processing aids, stabilizers, and curatives also play critical roles in both how the compound will process and how the end product will behave.
Care must be taken when processing Halobutyl that premature dehydrohalogenation does not occur due to high temperature. Stabilizers (calcium stearate alone for chlorobutyl, supplemented with an epoxy compound such as epoxidized soybean oil in the case of bromobutyl) are required to prevent dehydrohalogenation during processing.
Elemental sulfur and organic accelerators are widely used to cross-link butyl rubber for many applications. The low level of unsaturation requires aggressive accelerators such as thiuram or thiocarbamates. The vulcanization proceeds at the isoprene site with the polysulfidic cross links attached at the allylic positions, displacing the allylic hydrogen. The number of sulfur atoms per cross-link is between one and four or more. Cure rate and cure state (modulus) both increase if the diolefin content is increased (higher unsaturation). Sulfur cross-links have limited stability at sustained high temperature. Resin cure systems (commonly using alkyl phenol-formaldehyde derivatives) provide for carbon-carbon cross-links and more stable compounds.
3
In halobutyl, the allylic halogen allows easier cross-linking than does allylic hydrogen alone, because halogen is a better leaving group in nucleophilic substitution reactions. Zinc oxide is commonly used to cross-link halobutyl rubber, forming very stable carbon-carbon bonds by alkylation through dehydrohalogenation, with zinc chloride byproduct. Bromobutyl is faster curing than chlorobutyl and has better adhesion to high unsaturation rubbers. As a result, its volume growth rate has exceeded that of chlorobutyl in recent decades as tire plants have driven to higher productivity operation.
Br
Crosslinked Halobutyl Rubber
Conclusion
Butyl (and its primary derivative, halobutyl) is and will continue to be a high value polymer particularly well suited for its primary application of air retention in tires. Its unique combination of properties (excellent impermeability, good flex, good weatherability, co-vulcanization with high unsaturation rubbers, in the case of halobutyl) make it a preferred material for this application. As miles driven, tire size, and market sensitivity to pressure retention are all increasing, the demand for butyl rubber (specifically halobutyl) will continue to grow.
4
All of the material here is either paraphrased or verbatim from thepublic sources:
1. Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering (Vol 8)
2. The R. T. Vanderbilt Rubber Handbook (13th Edition)
3. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (4th Ed, Vol No. 8)
5

Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)

Epoxidised Natural Rubber (ENR) is derived from the partial epoxidation of the natural rubber molecule, resulting in a totally new type of elastomer. The epoxide groups are randomly distributed along the natural rubber molecule

Epoxidation results in a systematic increase in the polarity and glass transition temperature; these increase are reflected in the vucanizate properties. Property changes with increasing level of epoxidation include :
an increase in damping;
a reduction in swelling in hydrocarbon oils;
a decrease in gas permeability;
an increase in silica reinforcement; improved compatibility with polar polymers like polyvinyl chloride;
reduced rolling resistance and increased wet grip.


STUDY ON CHEMICAL INTERACTION BETWEEN EPOXIDIZED NATURAL RUBBER AND CARBON BLACK USING RHEOMETER
Abstract: Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) was prepared using in-situ performic acid epoxidation method. The level of epoxide groups was varied at approximately 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mole% epoxide. The ENRs will later be called as ENR-10, ENR-20, ENR-30, ENR-40 and ENR-50, respectively. Chemical interaction between ENRs and carbon blacks were determined using oscillating disk rheometer model ODR2000 at 160°C for 60 minutes. We found that minimum torque and increasing rate of torque increased with increasing level of epoxide groups and carbon black content in the blend, while the induction period decreased. Comparison between two types of carbon black, we found that N-220 exhibited higher minimum torque and increasing rate of torque than that of N-330. However, the induction period of N-220 was shorter.


Methodology: In-situ performic acid epoxidation was performed using 1.7 M of NR latex (DRC ~ 20%) set temperature at 50°C before adding non-ionic surfactant (Teric N30) at a level of 13 g/l. The mixture was stirred for 30 min before incorporating of 2.6 M hydrogen peroxide and 0.9 M formic acid. Reaction time was varied in order to gain the epoxide level at approximately 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mole % epoxide. The ENRs were then mixed with carbon blacks (N-220 and N-330) at the level of 20, 40 and 60 phr. The carbon black filled rubbers were tested using ODR2000.


Results, Discussion and Conclusion: Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) was prepared using in-situ performic acid epoxidation method. The level of epoxide groups was varied at approximately 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mole% epoxide. Chemical interaction between ENRs and carbon blacks were determined using oscillating disk rheometer model ODR2000 at 160°C for 60 minutes. The minimum torque and increasing rate of torque increased with the level of epoxide groups in NR molecules and the c-black content. This was attributed to the chemical interaction between polar functional group in ENR (i.e., epoxide group and hydroxyl groups from ring opening reaction) and carbon black (i.e., hydroxyl and carboxylic groups). Furthermore, we found that N-220 exhibited higher minimum torque and increasing rate of torque than those of N-330 filled rubbers. This may be described as the lower polar groups at the N-220 than that of N-330. Moreover, smaller the particle size of N-220 than that of N-330 play a significant role on the chemical interaction between the two phases. .

Characteristics of Synthetic Rubber Compounds

BUTADIENE RUBBER (BR) An elastomer with properties somewhat similar to natural rubber. Although its properties are not quite that of Natural Rubber, in some cases its low temperature characteristics are better.
Specific gravity.................................0.91
Compression set..................................B
Elongation, max............ ..................6x
Hardness, Shore A............................ 40-80
Brittle point (F).................................-100

BUTYL RUBBER (IIR) A petroleum product made of co-polymerizingisobutylene and isoprene (for desired degree necessary to vulcanization). Has excellent resistance to gas permeation, making it useful for vacuum applications.
Specific gravity....................................0.92
Tensile strength...................................3,000
Elongation, max...................................3x
Hardness, Shore A................................40-80
Brittle point (F).....................................-80

CHLOROPRENE / NEOPRENE (CR) Among the earliest of the synthetic rubbers, can be compounded for service at temperatures of --65° to +300°F, and most are either resistant to deterioration from exposure to petroleum lubricants, or to oxygen. (Neoprene is a Trademark of DuPont)
Specific gravity.......................................1.24
Tensile strength.......................................4,000
Elongation, max.......................................6x
Hardness.................................................30-90
Brittle Point..............................................-80

ETHYLENE PROPYLENE COPOLYMER (EPM/EPDM) Elastomers prepared from ethylene and propylene monomers , at times with a small amount of a third monomer (Etlylene Propylene Terpolymer). Excellent resistance to phosphate ester type hydraulic fluids.
Specific gravity..........................................86
Tensile Strength.........................................3,000
Elongation, max.........................................6x
Hardness, Shore A.....................................30-90
Brittle Point (F)..........................................-90

NATURAL RUBBER (NR) Found in the juices of many plants (shrubs, vines and trees), the principal of which is the HeveaBrasiliensis, native to Brazil. Especially vulnerable to petroleum oils, natural rubber has been all but completely replaced by synthetics for seal use.
Specific gravity..............................................0.92
Tensile strength..............................................4,000
Elongation, max..............................................7x
Hardness, Shore A...........................................30-90
Brittle point (F).................................................-80

NITRILE BUTADIENE (NBR) A copolymer of butediene and acrylonitrile, due to its excellent resistance to petroleum products and wide temperature range, the most widely used elastomer in the seal industry. Somewhat vulnerable to ozone, sunlight or weather.
Specific gravity.............................................1.0
Tensile strength..........................................4,000
Elongation, max..............................................4x
Hardness, Shore A......................................40-90
Brittle point (F)...............................................-40

POLYISOPRENE (IR) A synthetic elastomer with characteristics equal to, or similar to, those of Natural Rubber.
Specific gravity.....................................0.91
Tensile strength...................................4000
Elongation, max.......................................7x
Hardness, Shore A...............................30-90
Brittle point (F)........................................-80

STYRENE BUTADIENE (SBR) Best known as Buna S , this, along with natural rubber, account for 90% of the total world rubber consumption. Its chemical composition is of styrene and butadiene rubber, and it is not recommended for exposure to ozone, petroleum oils or sunlight.
Specific gravity......................................0.94
Tensile strength....................................3,500
Elongation, max....................................6x
Hardness, Shore a..................................40-90
Brittle point (F).....................................-80

SILICONE (SI / VMQ / PVMQ) The silicones are a group of materials made from silicone, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon which have poor tensile strength, and resistance to tear and abrasion, but exceptional heat and compression set resistance. High strength silicones have also been developed, but do not normally compare to natural rubber.
Specific gravity.....................................0.98
Tensile strength...................................1,200
Elongation, max.......................................7x
Hardness, Shore A...............................30-85
Brittle point (F).............................-90 to -180

Rubber Market in Thailand

Rubber was first found by the Aztecs in Mexico, Incas in Peru and by tribes in the Amazon basin, being initially used for balls in ritualistic games, figurines for worship and as incense. Rubber was ‘discovered’ by Christopher Columbus, taken back to Europe and, by the 18th century, used in the production of consumer products including tarpaulins, diver suits and water bottles. The demand for rubber from wild trees quickly outstripped supply, so the obvious step was to manage and control the stock of rubber trees.

Around 1840, rubber tree seeds were gathered in the Amazon Basin, sent to England for germination and redistributed to South and Southeast Asia starting in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), and onto the Malayan Peninsula. Rubber plantations were slow to establish themselves, although they operated in Indonesia by 1861, and Malaysia by 1860. A worldwide ‘rubber boom’ started with the invention of the pneumatic tire in 1888, followed by the introduction of motorized vehicles at the turn of the century. Investments came pouring into Southeast Asian plantations by 1905, led by tire makers Goodyear, Dunlop and Michelin. The hub of natural rubber production had rapidly shifted from the Americas to Southeast Asia, and remains in the region today, largely in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

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Throughout the last decade, Thailand has become the largest natural rubber producer and exporter in the world. The south, starting in Chumpon Province (about 500 km south of Bangkok) and continuing to the border with Malaysia, is the heart of rubber production in Thailand, with smaller crops grown in the Eastern and Northeastern regions. Thailand produced 2.065 millions tons of rubber in 1998, exporting 1.84 million tons of the yield earning US$ 1.46 billion. The leading export markets for Thai rubber are Japan, the USA, China, Malaysia and South Korea. Rubber plantations in Thailand are dominated by the small-holding sector, characterized as production cultivated from four hectares or less.

The natural rubber industry in Thailand is currently facing difficulties because the market price for rubber has been in decline. Export volumes have been increasing, but revenue earned has decreased because of the devalued baht and low rubber price. Thailand and Malaysia have recently withdrawn from the International Natural Rubber Organization (INRO), dissatisfied with the body’s ability to stabilize the price of rubber on the world market. The current trend in natural rubber finds a reduced demand for smoked rubber sheets, of which Thailand is the world’s leading producer, with preferences shifting to rubber blocks and concentrated latex as these forms offer buyers a higher quality standardized product. Competition is increasing in the smoked rubber sheet market from countries with lower production costs like India and Vietnam, while Malaysia and Indonesia have cornered large shares of the higher quality market for rubber blocks and concentrate.

Thailand has been successful in attracting and promoting domestic rubber manufacturing companies, but must focus its efforts for further development of these value-adding industries as 90 percent of natural rubber production is exported. Tire and tube manufacturers are the largest users of natural rubber in the country, accounting for 47 percent of domestic rubber consumption. There are three well-known large tire companies, Goodyear, Bridgestone and Michelin as well as 16 other companies producing tires for cars, trucks, buses and aircraft operating in Thailand. Other large manufacturing industries make rubber gloves, condoms, balloons, auto parts, cushions and elastic bands.

The future for Thailand’s natural rubber industry is unclear at the moment. Prices are likely to remain depressed, even with Thai and Malaysian efforts to manipulate prices upwards. Their pact is far from a cartel on natural rubber, as Indonesia has not joined their efforts, while synthetic rubber can replace natural rubber, acting as a viable substitute if prices dramatically increase. Plans are underway to further expand the rubber industry into the northeast of Thailand. Small farmers are being offered incentives and guidance to help them improve the quality of the rubber, and shift towards production of rubber blocks and concentrate. Further focus will be placed on attracting and expanding rubber-based industries including further production of rubber gloves, condoms and tires that capitalize on Thailand’s plentiful, steady supply.

Thailand is under pressure to maintain rubber as an important part of its economy and needs to upgrade the production technology to meet market trends, and further develop supporting industries to add value and maximize the resource’s benefit to the country.

World Rubber Production

World Rubber Production

Unit:Tonnes

THAILAND
2,065,000

INDONESIA
1,680,000

MALAYSIA
866,000

INDIA
591,000

CHINA
450,000

AFRICA
334,000

VIETNAM
219,000

LATIN AMERICA
112,000

SRI LANKA
96,000

PHILIPPINES
64,000

OTHERS
113,000

TOTAL
6,590,000

Source: World Trade Organization

Overview of the rubber industry and tire manufacturing.

Lewis R.
Division of Occupational Toxicology, University of Louisville, KY 40292, USA.
The production of rubber and rubber products is a large and diverse industry. Natural rubber, obtained from plantations in Africa and Asia, accounts for only about 25% of the rubber used in industry. Synthetic alternatives, developed during World War II, are the primary sources of raw materials today. Health hazards in synthetic rubber production are primary related to exposure to monomers. An excess incidence of leukemia has been observed in styrene/butadiene rubber production, attributed to exposure to 1,3-butadiene. Excesses of cancer and respiratory disease have been reported, although specific causative agents are rarely identified. Exposures have varied greatly over the years, based on changes in materials used, work practices, and ventilation. In modern industry, exposures to noise, skin and respiratory irritants, and ergonomic stressors remain important. The tire industry, in particular, has been studied extensively over the past 50 years.

Carbon blacks

Common uses
Carbon blacks is a material. today usually use [70%] of carbon black is as pigment and reinforcing filler in rubber products, especially tires. Carbon black also helps reducing heat damage and increasing tire has long life.
And, Carbon black also improves tensile strength in the rubber.
Practically all rubber products use carbon black so they are black in color.
Such as Tires, Belt, hoses, and other rubber goods.

1.Carbon black suppliers in the world
CABOT
COLUMBIAN Chemical Company
CONTINENTAL Carbon Company
DEGUSSA
SID RICHARDSON
CANCARB
MITSUBISHI Chemical
GIRSA Industrias Negromex
INDIAN RAYON
CHEMAPOL
LEHMANN & VOSS
NHUMO (Girsa)
THAI CARBON BLACK　
KOREA CARBON BLACKCONTINENTAL
CARBON AUSTRALIA