NBR Rubber

NBR Rubber

The total capacity of NBR (acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber) in the world increased from 546.5 thousand t/a in 2004 to 566.5 thousand t/a in 2005. Major NBR producers include Lanxess of Germany, Zeon and JSR of Japan and Nitrilo Paratec Elastomers of Mexico. The total capacity in these 4 producers accounts for around 50% of the world total.

USES
Hose, belting and cable, 28 percent; O-rings and seals, 20 percent; latex applications, 14 percent; molded and extruded products, 14 percent; adhesives and sealants, 10 percent; sponges, 5 percent; footwear, 4 percent; other, 5 percent.

STRENGTH
Nitrile rubber is highly resistant to petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel oil and other fuels over a wide temperature range. NBR is also noted for high strength and excellent resistance to abrasion, water, alcohols and heat. Special forms of NBR continue to grow in importance. Powdered NBR finds widespread use in polyvinyl chloride and ABS resins as an impact modifier in such products as automotive dashboards and kick panels. Industry consolidation has strengthened the remaining suppliers and eliminated a net 12% of the installed capacity.

WEAKNESS
Only modest overall growth can be expected in nitrile rubber. With 50 percent of its end-use in automotive components, NBR is overly dependent on that cyclical industry. NBR latex has lost market share to styrene-butadiene and acrylic latex products in non-woven fabrics and some paper applications. Competition in hose and belting markets is intense, although superior oil resistance gives NBR the edge in some hose applications.