Silica Masterbatch SBR for Improved Dispersion and Processibility

The use of precipitated silica as a reinforcing filler has been at the forefront of the “Green Tire” movement and other advances in the rubber industry. While significant improvements in rolling resistance, wet grip, and some mechanical properties can be achieved with silica compounds, the processing of silica can be very difficult. Lion Copolymer has been successful in developing a new, innovative silica masterbatch SBR product that improves the processing of silica compounds. Silica powder is pretreated with a silane coupling agent and mixed with emulsion SBR latex prior to coagulation. During coagulation, the silica becomes encapsulated and well dispersed in the SBR matrix. The homogeneous, predistribution of silica in the SBR results in lower mixing energy and faster mixing times. We demonstrate the excellent dispersion of silica and the improvement in properties that can be achieved through compounding with our silica masterbatch product versus conventional silica compounding methods.