Top 10 Global Elastomer Sustainability Ranking

The European Rubber Journal (ERJ) has released its list of the "Top 10 Global Elastomer Sustainability Innovations," as follows:

■ HF Mixing Group: Smart Final Mix Technology

This technology precisely optimizes the final mixing process for tires and industrial rubber products, calculating optimal process parameters and helping the industry save up to 29% in energy consumption.

■ Evonik: Advanced Rubber Recycling Formulation

Using a special formulation containing vinyl silane, this technology efficiently reverses the vulcanization reaction, preserving the long carbon chain structure. It increases the amount of recycled rubber used in new tires to 20%, and is nearing industrial-scale production.

■ UPM Biochemicals: Lignin-based Renewable Functional Fillers (RFFs)

These fillers can replace traditional fillers suchs as carbon black. They have received multiple international certifications and passed ISO 9001 pre-audits, and are currently undergoing collaborative certification with relevant global manufacturers.

■ Klockner Desma: Carbon Footprint Navigator Application (PCF Navigator Ecos)

By analyzing the key influencing factors of the carbon footprint of molded rubber products, this application integrates various data and links with Desma CoolApp to help companies calculate emission reduction effectiveness and identify optimal production solutions.

■ Silox: ActiECO + Next-Generation Sustainable Activator

Through an innovative green precipitation process, this technology converts zinc-based solutions into zinc oxide, offering both circularity and environmental benefits. The product has excellent dispersibility, maximizing contact area with formulation components and significantly improving rubber vulcanization efficiency. 

■ Hankook, Hyosung, SK Chemicals: Chemically Recycled PET Tires

Through multiple processes, polymer waste is converted into recycled materials with performance comparable to petroleum-based products. The high-strength recycled PET tire cord produced by this technology is used in the Hankook iON series, resulting in a sustainable material content of 45%.

■ Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG): Bio-based Polyurethane Synthetic Leather

Successfully developed in 2021, this synthetic leather has a biomass content exceeding 92%, offers excellent performance, and is suitable for multiple applications. Using plant-based raw materials reduces petroleum resource consumption and lowers greenhouse gas emissions through carbon absorption.

■ Asahi Kasei Europe: Low 6PPD Selective Hydrogenated Styrene-Butadiene Rubber

Significantly improves ozone resistance and reduces 6PPD usage, optimizing material mechanical properties, especially excelling in improving fatigue resistance.

■ Arkema, On: CloudNeo Recyclable High-Performance Running Shoes

Includes two products, Cloudrise Cyclon and Cloudeasy Cyclon, using a high proportion of bio-based or recycled materials, offered through the Cyclon subscription service and professionally recycled by the brand.

■ Tosoh Corp., Bando Chemical Industries: Chloroprene Rubber Composite Material

Applied to power transmission belt products and successfully commercialized, solving the challenge of uniformly dispersing cellulose nanofibers (CNF) during rubber compounding and composite processes.  The companies are expanding product application scenarios and promoting large-scale mass production.