Taking the legacy a step further

Dr. Günther Weymans , He ad of Technical Rubber Products business unit, LANXESS Deutschland GmbH sat down with the International Plastics News - Middle East (IRNE) to discuss recent developments in synthetic rubber production. IRNE: What are the most recent developments in LANXESS' efforts to develop specialty rubbers for specific applications? Weymans: Ournewrubber nanoparticles represent a "mini" revolution in the industry. They are pre-crosslinked elastomer particles that exhibit excellent shear strength. The particles are produced using the emulsion process and range from 60 to 70 nanometers in size. The Technical Rubber Products business unit markets these nanoparticles under the name "Nanoprene?. The Rhein Chemie (a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS) portfolio includes very similar products under the name "Micromorph", but these are aimed at different markets. The members of the two product families have different chemical compositions, glass transition temperatures and surface functionalisation characteristics. Both products open up completely new options for the systematic development of rubber compounds and plastic blends. For instance, they incorporate typical rubber properties into a polymer matrix without forming unwanted phases. Our new ultra-high ACN Therban?grades are a further current LANXESS highlight. Thanks to their very high acrylonitrile content, they are much less prone to swelling in many critical media. In some cases, they are even close to matching fluororubbers in this respect, yet they still demonstrate the excellent resistance to dynamic stresses that is typical of HNBR rubbers. Our newest product is Therban?AT 3400 VP ?with viscosity of between 100 and 1,000 Pas (Pascal seconds) at conventional processing temperatures. The new ultra-low viscous (ULV) Therban?has potential applications in liquid injection moulding, the production of inplace gaskets (IPG) and the manufacture of particularly soft seals that achieve a hardness of under 40 Shore A without the addition of plasticizers. IRNE: How would you assess the response of your markets to these new products? Weymans: Nanoprene?is already leading to significant improvements in tyre compounds containing silica. Fuel cells are one example of an interesting non-rubber Nanoprene?application. Micromorph?particles convey the charge carriers in the proton conductor membrane much more effectively than the water that was previously used for this purpose. As a result, it is possible to increase the working temperature of fuel cells to well over 150 ℃. The new ultra-high ACN Therban?grades are suitable for use in vehicles that run on biofuels. More people are looking to switch to alternative fuels. However, the rubber seals and hoses in today's vehicle engine have been optimised over the decades for contact with normal gasoline or diesel. If these rubbers are suddenly exposed to biodiesel or alcohol, they can swell, thus becoming permeable and less resilient. As a result, biofuel poses considerable challenges for the materials currently used in automotive engineering. The new synthetic rubbers Therban?AT 5065 VP, Therban?AT 5005 VP and Therban?5008 VP are better equipped against swelling in "green fuel" thanks to their high acrylonitrile content of up to 50.5% (upper specification limit). With the ultra-low viscous Therban?AT 3400 VP, we are taking the AT concept to new heights ?at typical processing temperatures of between 50 and 100 ℃, ULV Therban?AT 3400 VP is as liquid as oil and it make possible for example to apply resilient and highly oil-resistant Therban?cords to complex moulded sheets and plastic components. IRNE: What specific industries do you think would require more focus as far as LANXESS' R&D efforts for special rubbers are concerned? AIr Jordan Outdoor Basketball Shoes