NEW GENERATION OF LOW PAH OIL EXTENDED ESBRs

As of 1^st of January of 2010 in the European Community all tire and retread industry must change their recipes for using low PAH oils. By REACH regulation (EC No1907/2006 from European Parliament and from Council of December 18^th 2006, Annex XVII), these oils, used as process aids or incorporated in extended rubbers, must match the following parameters: polycyclic aromatics (PCA) extract lower than 3.0%w/w, as measured by the Institute of Petroleum standard IP346, sum of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) less than 10mg/kg and the Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) content must not exceed 1 mg/kg.
LANXESS Elastômeros do Brasil as a global leader in the ESBR production developed new grades of oil-extended SBRs, in co-operation with several oil producers. Different low PAH oils, specially designed to fulfill the requirements of tire and retread market, were incorporated into two series of ESBRs from the 1700 Series (i.e. 1712 and 1721).
In this paper the physico-chemical characterization of the new oils as well as the ESBR’s properties and processability are shown. The compounds obtained are evaluated regarding their mechanical and physical properties.
The results show that new polymers developed are feasible replacement alternatives to traditional ESBRs, which enable tires and retread companies to have their compounds recipes easily adapted to the new legislation.