.Aromatic Oils : The Best Alternative for Tire Industry

The global rubber industry is growing all over the world and it is driven by the growth in tyre demand. Most of the growth in rubber consumption is expected to come from Asia and America as tyre production in the regions increase.

The tyre industry tends to develop products with better performance and EU adopted a tire labelling regulation (EC/1222/2009) that came into effect from value in terms of performance. The concept of tyre labelling has progressed in countries like Turkey, Japan, South Korea that  have also come up with their own tyre labelling systems. On the other hand, United States, China, Brazil are planning their own tyre labelling.

RPO´s, extender oils, are one of the key components of the rubber formulation that have a strong impact on the tyre performance (tyre label). European legislation (Directive 2005/69/EC) forbidden the use of high-polyaromatics RPO´s in tyre formulations. The directive defines that the extender oils allowed must comply with different criteria (PCA´s, PAH´s, Ames Test). Many countries are expected to follow EU Directive and ban high polyaromatics oils and the tendency of the market is to use environmentally friendly products.

The chemistry of the different extender oil alternatives is very important to achieve a good compatibility and the best performance on the tyre. In this sense, low toxicity aromatic oils called “non labelled extender oils” like TDAE, RAE, due to their aromaticity, are especially suitable for tyre formulations. These oils are highly compatible with the rubber and give better mechanical and physical compound performance and the best dynamic performance and provide a good level on the tyre label.