Emulsil® Silica Masterbatch Technology: Compound Design Considerations for Tire Tread Applications

The use of silica in tire tread applications has been well known to provide improved benefits in rolling resistance and wet traction performance.  The standard method of compounding silica in a tire tread requires a careful selection of a silica filler and silica coupling agent(s). The use of silica and a silane-based coupling technology is accomplished in reaction pass in the mixing sequence which is designed to fully couple the filler with the polymer. The details of this reaction pass are quite complex due to the tendency of the silane coupling agents to incomplete reaction with silica and to side reactions with other compound ingredients.  

The Emulsil® Silica Masterbatch technology recently commercialized by Industrias Negromex (INSA) brings a tool and a solution to the compounder by having a product where the silica is fully reacted and coupled.  The silica masterbatch product’s specific processing benefits include improved consistency and tread uniformity, elimination of alcohol emissions, improved efficiency by reductions in mixing energy, raw materials savings and excellent silica dispersion.

In this presentation we will review the basic elements of Emulsil® silica masterbatch technology in compound design based on the type and level of sulfur present in the Emulsil® product.  In addition, the analysis of critical compound properties based on physical and dynamic data testing will be covered.  The correlation of these data with key Tire tread performance properties such as rolling-resistance, wet/dry traction and ice traction will be reviewed.