An EU-funded Horizon Europe initiative known as the Rubbio project is aiming to manufacture high-performance, bio-based synthetic rubbers: specifically polybutadiene (PB), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), from starch-rich bread and potato waste. Besides the production of three…
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LSR stretches its industrial footprint
Liquid silicone rubber, or LSR, is an advanced elastomer that has gained traction ...
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Tyres: Space’s the limit for rubber tyres
Innovative rubber tyres are entering the era of space missions: as a catalyst ...
Medical: Flexible artificial muscles from liquid crystal elastomers
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Tyres: Tyre makers take the wheel to turn the sustainability corner
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ETIC licenses EPDM tech to Yulin for China plant
Japanese elastomer engineering and plant-design consultancy ETIC has signed an EPDM manufacturing technology licensing agreement with China’s state-owned Guoneng Yulin Chemical for a new 50,000-tonne/year plant in Yulin City, Shaanxi province. The project is planned as ETIC’s third EPDM technology…
Dunlop ties up with Thai universities to improve rubber yields
Dunlop under Sumitomo Rubber Industries has announced that it has signed a joint research agreement in Thailand as a project under the Hevea Research Platform in Partnership (HRPP), an international platform for natural rubber research. The other parties to the…
Continental develops tyre with 40% recycled materials content
As part of the EU-funded ZEvRA project, German tyre maker Continental has developed a concept tyre made from around 43% recycled materials. The project name ZEvRA stands for “Zero Emission Electric Vehicles Enabled by Harmonized Circularity.” The two-year EU project…
Dunlop completes investment expansion in South Africa
Dunlop Tyres’s South African subsidiary recently completed a R1.7 billion investment programme at its uMnambithi (Ladysmith) manufacturing facility and expanding production capabilities. Backed by parent company Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) of Japan, the three-year investment equips the facility with advanced…
Mitsubishi plans colloidal silica plant at Japanese facility
Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical is to looking at establishing an ultra-high-purity colloidal silica plant at its site in Kitakyushu, Japan, for use as a raw material for polishing agents in semiconductors. The company makes this material through an integrated manufacturing process…
Epsilon ups carbon capacity; doubles total capacity
India’s Epsilon Carbon has commissioned a 300,000 tonnes/year specialty carbon facility at Vijayanagar, Karnataka, taking its total specialty carbon production capacity to 600,000 tonnes/year. The expansion strengthens Epsilon Carbon’s position as one of India’s largest specialty carbon producers while supporting the…
Aether/Dow to research silicone tech in India
Aether Industries Ltd. and Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India) have launched an exclusive, multi-year research program to advance silicone manufacturing technology development in India. The program will leverage Aether’s R&D and pilot facilities in Surat, Gujarat, to develop next-generation…
Zeon completes bio-based butadiene demo facility
Japan’s Zeon Corp. has completed construction of a bench-scale facility at its Tokuyama Plant (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) to demonstrate technology for production of butadiene from ethanol derived from plant-based and other sustainable materials. Construction of the facility began in July 2025. The…
Eneos to acquire TPC; strengthen C4 chemical business
Japan’s Eneos Holdings says it has decided to acquire US-based butadiene producer TPC Holdings through its wholly owned US subsidiary, to make TPC a wholly owned subsidiary of Eneos under its High Performance Materials Segment. The deal is expected to close in October 2026, pending regulatory approvals. The deal…