Rubber Journal Asia Rubber Technology identifies a clone. To Last year, two date, i-klon can identify Malaysian companies, six types of clones. This rubber producer Felda will later be increased Rubber Industries and to 20 in the near future. Mardec, an integrated Moreover, MRB has also conglomerate engaged developed a tagging in rubber and polymer system to help track the processing, trading clones’ type and origin and manufacturing, (nursery operator). were selected for The machine reads the technology transfer and barcode to verify the type commercialisation of and if the clone is not the Ekoprena in the country. right type, smallholders MRB has been can return the seedling producing the material and demand for a new at a pilot plant in its one. research centre in Officials being briefed on the ARTS, to be launched in October Sungai Buloh with a Even with the explosion of information maximum capacity of and technology, there is so little understanding of 1,000 tonnes/year. it. “Smallholders are mostly in their prime and may The commercialisation process will facilitate the not be open to learning new techniques and adopting production of Ekoprena with an initial capacity technology advances. Currently, we are focusing on of 12,000 tonnes/year, up to a targeted capacity the upstream sector and encouraging it to produce the of 300,000 tonnes/year and an investment of right materials to support the downstream industry.” RM140 million by 2020. Currently, two grades of Ekoprena are produced commercially: Ekoprena Based on a survey conducted by MRB, the average rubber productivity for 2011 was approximately 1,500 25 and Ekoprena 50 (containing 25% and 50% kg/ha/year, 1.4% more than 2010. The organisation mole epoxidation, respectively) covering the range plans to increase the national productivity to 2,000 of properties desirable for most of the expected kg/ha/year in 2020. applications for ENR. Asked how she foresees the industry over the Salmiah revealed that Ekoprena 25 has been next few years, Salmiah envisages more automated used successfully in Enasave tyres produced by tapping systems to be applied as well as plenty a Japanese company. “Enasave 97 has a 97% nonof opportunities for collaborations, provided petroleum-based content achieved largely through organisations are keen to partake in the learning the use of silica-filled Ekoprena in the tyre tread, process. sidewall and inner liner compounds.” She also went on to say that the company has The future of green tyre technology reported a 35% reduction in rolling resistance in its oving on to other developments intended to help Enasave 97 tyre, which currently is said to be the conserve the environment, Salmiah says that highest rated tyre for both wet grip and fuel economy “green tyres” are no longer a buzzword in the tyre under Japan’s tyre labelling scheme. industry. Demand for hybrid and electric vehicles and for low rolling resistance tyres could trigger silica-based “This will be a key area of development for some time to come. It is because of this that considerable Ekoprena consumption in passenger car tyres to reach investment into the development of environmentally the targeted capacity, rising to a potential market of friendly Ekoprena tyres has been started by MRB’s more than 1 million tonnes in the next decade. research centre in the UK, the Tun Abdul Razak For commercial vehicle tyres, the need for a Research Centre (TARRC).” new material such as Ekoprena could be even more important to enable tyre manufacturers to meet Ekoprena is epoxidised natural rubber (ENR), obtained by epoxidation of natural rubber latex that is new legislative requirements that are coming up produced from a renewable natural resource. in Europe, requiring improved wet grip and fuel economy, say industry analysts. Malaysia’s first Ekoprena experimental tyre to undergo commercial vehicle service trials in the UK Meanwhile, Salmiah believes that as production was fitted to a coach recently. The programme will volumes rise, the price of Ekoprena compounds test the green tyre tread material on commercial could be comparable with current synthetic-based vehicles in service using UK-based South Mimms compounds, with the added benefit of improved Travel’s vehicles. performance and better environmental credentials.
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7 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2012
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