Beyhond RFL Dipping

Since decades, textile reinforcements in tires are adhesion activated by resorcinol formaldehyde latex (RFL) dip to allow sufficient bondage between the reinforcement and the surrounding rubber matrix. Although several attempts have been made in the past to substitute or improve RFL, it is still the dominating industry standard world-wide.  RFL treated reinforcements are known to provide sufficient adhesion over the whole tire life in various applications. For tire manufacturers this worldwide standard is an advantage on its own:  changing from one textile supplier to another still keeps the basic adhesion chemistry at the textile-rubber interface. This eliminates possibly necessary adaptations in the rubber formulation.

Now, the picture is somehow going to change. Both, resorcinol and formaldehyde are under close supervision of legislative organizations especially in the European Union. Formaldehyde already has been reclassified in the US and European Union toward a more sensitive class. For sure, this drives the current efforts to find a substitute for RFL adhesion system in the textile industry. Various, if not all, textile suppliers are working on this.

With this presentation, Continental would like to explain its view on the topic and to share latest test results in finding an alternative adhesion technology. As moving away from RF is a big challenge with broad and significant impact, we would like to encourage the industry to set a common goal in generating a new common textile adhesion standard for the tire industry.