Tires are key to the safety of cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, tractors, industrial vehicles and aircraft. Ever tougher quality demands on tires, for example a further reduction in rolling resistance to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2, make it essential to use high-quality, innovative materials. Rhein Chemie is a strong partner to the tire industry and makes a major contribution to achieving quality and environmental objectives. We offer all kinds of solutions for processing rubber compounds, tire manufacturing, vulcanizing chemicals, bladder additives and release agents.
Processing:
Customized processing promoters are available for all tire components. With the newly developed products Aflux® 37, Rhein Chemie offers compound developers processing promoters specifically for silica treads. In addition to their improved processing properties and unlike traditional aids, these innovative products do not have any adverse effect on the tire’s physical properties. The powder release agents in the Rhenodiv range make for easy interim storage of rubber sheets and further processing after the relevant mixing stages. Rhenodiv® S 505-2 is ideal for all grades of rubber, including soft, oily synthetic rubber compounds.
Tire manufacture:
Reliable bonding of rubber compounds with the textile and steel mesh reinforcing materials is essential for tire composites. Rhenosin® T is a precondensed resorcinol formaldehyde that achieves stable RFL dip quality for fabric impregnation. The use of Rhenogran® Resorcin-80 in combination with Rhenogran® Hexa-80 and Rhenogran® IS 90-65 in steel cord compounds ensures a consistently high level of bonding in steel breaker tires.
Vulcanization:
When combined with sulfenamides, MBTS or MBT, the specialty accelerators Rhenocure® SDT/S and Rhenocure® ZBOP/S dramatically improve reversion properties in all kinds of rubber grades. This makes them particularly useful for complex components such as tires. Rhenocure® SDT/S replaces the DPG in silica formulations, in particular in formulations to optimize rolling resistance used in combination with mercaptosilanes. Whenever excellent dispersion of vulcanizing chemicals is important, we recommend using the relevant predispersed Rhenogran® products. The Rhenodiv® range of aqueous paints for the inside of tires and bladder coatings enables problem-free vulcanization and cuts scrap rates. Rhenodiv® 5100-2, for example, has been specifically developed to satisfy the demands of car tires with reinforced sidewalls. The well-established semi-permanent bladder coating Rhenodiv® 700-2 gives the bladder a much longer service life.
Bladders:
Rhenogran® PCZ-70/IIR, a combination of zinc oxide and crosslinking resin, provides a typical solution to the problem of vulcanizing butyl bladder compounds. It ensures the even dispersion of crosslinking chemicals and stops clumps of resin forming in the internal mixer. A further improvement in processing can be achieved using Aflux® 16.