A PhD student at the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)in Lithuania, with the help of her supervisor, has successfully invented an antimicrobial silicone which, they believe, will be extremely useful both for household and medical purposes. Aiste Lisauskaite, a student…
ANRPC forecasts NR output to surpass demand by 3 mn tonnes in 2017
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has forecasted natural rubber (NR) production in 2017 to surpass demand by 3 million tonnes. In 2016, natural rubber output surpassed demand by 2.7 million tonnes. As per the report released by…
ATMA raises concern over falling bus, truck radial tyre production in India
The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) in India is raising concern over the continued decrease in production of truck & bus radial (TBR) tyres in the country due to slowing economy and rising dumping of Chinese radials. From more than…
Wacker invests EUR7 mn to expand silicone production in Brazil
Global chemicals company Wacker Chemie AG is investing a total of EUR7 million to increase silicone production at its Jandira site near São Paulo, Brazil. The company is currently building a multi-purpose facility to manufacture antifoam compounds and functional silicone…
Carbon black alternative made from food waste could be key to sustainable rubber
Researchers at The Ohio State University in the US have discovered and developed a patent-pending technology that turns food waste, specifically eggshells and tomato peels, into a viable rubber filler alternative to carbon black. In tests, rubber made with the…
Avery Dennison,Ferm RFID Solutions create first universal tyre tread label
A new universal tyre tread label technology with worldwide RFID functionality, which allows entire pallets of tyres to be read in a single pass, has been created by Avery Dennison, a global leader in labelling and packaging solutions, and Ferm…
Nanucellulose, carbon black combination could lower tyres’ rolling resistance
Initial evaluations conducted by material scientists from American Process Inc. (API) and Aditya Birla Group’s Birla Carbon have found that combining the companies’ Birla Carbon and Bio Plusnanocellulose products significantly lower the rolling resistance of tyres. In line with this,…
Asia Pacific nations expected to lead growth of global tyre industry
Asia Pacific nations are expected to lead the growth of the global tyre industry as it continues to expand economically. Countries including China, India, Japan, and Australia are set to play an economically-defining role in the tyre trade in the…
Cabot to expand capabilities for elastomer composite business in Malaysia
Cabot Corporation, a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company based in Massachusetts in the US, is expanding its capabilities elastomer composites in order to support a new set of tyre and industrial rubber customers. The company announced a strategic…
Vipal ECO rubber treads achieves 18.7% fuel savings during test in Brazil
A test conducted in Sao Paulo, Brazil attested to the quality of Vipal Rubber’s DV-UM3B ECO tread as it achieved 18.7% saving in fuel against the standard design performance. Vipal’s rubber treads were equipped in ViaçãoVaz, a carrier from Santo…