Friday, February 21, 2020 - West Conshohocken, PA – ASTM International’s rubber committee has approved a new subcommittee focused on rubber sustainability. According to Timothy Morris, chair of ASTM’s rubber committee (D11), the new group will develop standardized terms, test methods, specifications, practices and classifications that support sustainability of rubber, rubber products, systems and services. Topics will include rubber recycling, devulcanization of rubber and biodegradation of rubber and micro-rubber. In addition to developing new standards, some existing ASTM International rubber standards will be transferred from other subcommittees to the new sustainability subcommittee: Classification for Rubber Compounding Materials - Recycled Vulcanizate Rubber (D5603); Test Method for Rubber Compounding Materials - Determination of Particle Size Distribution of Recycled Vulcanizate Particulate Rubber (D5644); Test Method for Determination of Percent Devulcanization of Crumb Rubber Based on Crosslink Density (D6814) and Practice for Rubber Compounding Materials — Evaluation of Recycled Vulcanizate Particulate Rubber (D8268). This effort directly relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #12 on responsible production and consumption. ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN. The next meeting of ASTM International’s rubber committee is June 29 – July 1 in Boston, MA.

Friday, February 21, 2020 - Durham, U.K. - Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd., one of the U.K.’s leading independent chemical manufacturers, announced that the Graphene Engineering Innovation Center (GEIC) in Manchester has produced a fiber using Polyamide 6 and 0.2 percent loading of Thomas Swan graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). GEIC successfully extruded and subsequently spun 1.5 km of the fiber with a 0.39 mm diameter. This bodes well for continuing our development of graphene in nanocomposites and shows positive traction for Thomas Swan’s commitment to advanced materials research and development, specifically graphene. Typical applications for this type of monofiber include carbon brushes for motors, seat belts or fishing lines. Michael Edwards, commercial director, advanced materials, at Thomas Swan, said, “This is yet another example of the use of our GNP in nanocomposite applications. We will continue our collaboration with the GEIC to enhance the range of polymeric solutions available for various application examples, demonstrating our continued commitment to graphene production.” John Vickers, application specialist at GEIC, said, “The fiber reel was manufactured at the GEIC facility at The University of Manchester, using the Xplore fiber spin line. The line can produce fibers at a speed of 0.5 to 90 M/minute via a controlled Godet. The Xplore fiber spin line has the capability of spinning materials down to typically 50 microns, subject to formulation.”

Friday, February 21, 2020 - Akron, OH - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company said it will webcast its presentation at the 2020 Wolfe Research Global Auto, Auto Tech and Mobility Conference in New York on February 26. Darren R. Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will provide a business overview. A live, audio-only webcast of the presentation will be available at 12:05 p.m. EST on the company’s investor relations website: http://investor.goodyear.com. A replay of the webcast will be available following the event.

Friday, February 21, 2020 - Atlanta, GA - Birla Carbon and GranBio Technologies announce the introduction of their patent-pending NDC rubber masterbatch for qualification by tire and rubber companies. The breakthrough in NDC masterbatch is the result of a three-year joint development program between the two companies designed to address growing sustainability demands from the tire industry, both in terms of improving tire rolling resistance and vehicle fuel economy through enabling the incorporation of sustainable, bio-derived nanocellulose into commercial rubber compounds. The utilization of nanocellulose in rubber goods and tires has been an active area of research and development throughout industry and academia over the past several years. However, effective dispersion of hydrophilic nanocellulose into hydrophobic rubber formulations has been a persistent problem that has previously hindered widespread uptake by the rubber industry. Sharing his thoughts on the announcement, Dale Clark, chief technology officer, Birla Carbon, said, “At Birla Carbon, we focus on the market trends and work closely with our customers to understand where they need help delivering value. A key product innovation goal of our tire customers is to increase the amount of renewable raw materials in their tires through product innovation.” He further added, “The NDC masterbatch enables delivery of this goal while maintaining or improving tire properties and performance.” “This is a significant milestone in GranBio’s commercialization of its breakthrough BioPlus nanocellulose technology. GranBio Technologies is committed to bringing renewable technologies to market to improve sustainability while providing improved product functionality for our customers. We are proud to be partnering with Birla Carbon to bring this solution to market, and look forward to seeing the first commercial products literally on the road,” shared Kenneth Hill, chief commercial officer, GranBio Technologies. The NDC masterbatch overcomes traditional dispersion challenges by combining several synergistic innovations developed by our team members, including GranBio’s patented hydrophobic form of nanocellulose. The breakthrough in nanocellulose technology for rubber compounds provides many advantages and benefits for the rubber compounder, including easy dispersing, convenient, dust-free handling and integration into formulations, along with increased use of renewable raw materials and improvements in fuel economy.

Friday, February 21, 2020 - Nashville, TN - The Bourbon Trail Elastomer Group announces its spring meeting will be held March 24 at the Aloft Newport on the Levee in Newport, KY. Featured technical speakers include Joel Neilsen, technical applications specialist at Lanxess Corporation (Rhein Chemie business unit, Rubber Additives business), who will discuss "Predispersions of peroxides and coagents,” and Richard Hanzlik, applications engineer at Alpha Technologies, who will discuss, “Measuring molecular characteristics with modern instruments.” For more information, visit www.bourbontrailelastomergroup.org or email Diane.Szczesniak@alpha-technologies.com.

Friday, February 21, 2020 - Akron, OH - A new book is offered in the Rubber World book store: Resistance and Stability of Polymers. The stability and resistance of polymeric materials determine whether they can be utilized in a given application. Authoritative and reliable material information is needed during the material selection process, and this information must consider the influences of material manufacturing, compounding and stabilization, processing, part design, use and subsequent disposal/recycling. This book is based on a review of more than 1,200 literature sources and represents a comprehensive overview of the current know-how regarding the stability and resistance of thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers, as well as the most commonly used reinforcements and additives. Extensive tables document material resistance to given media, facilitating appropriate material selection or stabilization for a given application. Volume 1 covers principles of aging, testing methods, stabilization, processing, applications, mechanical behavior of fiber reinforced plastics. Volume 2 covers plastics, rubbers and their acronyms. Other abbreviations, tables of chemical resistance, a bibliography and an index are included. Author: Gottfried Ehrenstrein and Sonja Pongratz; ISBN: 978-1-56990-456-5; two volumes, 1,436 pages; 2013, hardcover; $499.95 USD + SH. Visit http://www.rubberworld.com/RWbookstore.asp for more information.