LANXESS: environmentally-friendly oils only for synthetic rubber production
8/24/2009 1:48:00 PM
Specialty chemicals group LANXESS AG is to globally forgo the use of DAE oils in the production of synthetic rubbers from December 1, 2009 onwards. To safeguard the supply of alternative products, LANXESS's Performance Butadiene Rubbers (PBR) business unit will enter into a strategic co-operation with Swedish oil producer Nynas.
Christoph Kalla, head of Marketing of PBR, says: ''Our customers know that we are a reliable partner focusing on innovation, quality and guarantee of supply. Thus we need a co-operation partner like Nynas that is globally oriented with a long-term strategy and has the flexibility to make quick decisions.''
The widely used DAE oils are processing oils with a high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. They are considered to have
a negative impact on the environment and human health. This is the reason why the use of these processing oils in tires sold in Europe and Japan will be banned by law from 2010 onwards. An environmentally friendly substitute is provided either by TDAE oils or naphthenic oils.
Per Dahlstedt, Vice President of Nynas Group and head of Naphthenics, expects the tire industry to face major structural changes due to the legal directive. ''About a million metric tons of aromatic extract will have to be replaced per year. This is a highly demanding challenge for tire producers. Our naphthenic products are excellent alternatives from a technical point of view.''
Nynas globally supplies oil specialties without any restrictions. The products are precisely developed for tire production. From a technical viewpoint they are an equivalent alternative to TDAE oils. Furthermore, Nynas has a team of experts solely concentrating on the development and marketing of oils for the tire industry. Kalla says: ''Nynas' profes¬sional know-how in combination with the rubber competence of LANXESS provides tailor-made products and optimal service quality for our customers.''
LANXESS started in 2006 to continuously switch all its rubber producing processes over to environmentally friendly oils at its European prod¬uction sites, with all of them now being completely free of DAE. At the Brazilian subsidiary LANXESS Elastômeros do Brazil, a logistics network will be established in the near future to ensure a smooth transition to naphthenic oils.
