RJA April 2012 Feature-Country Focus

Rubber Journal Asia Country Focus

Thai show pushes the “green” envelope “Green” theme at the show rganised by TechnoBiz Communications, more than 6,000 visitors were exposed to over 100 exhibitors from the rubber and tyre industries, from countries such as Thailand, China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, UK, Germany, Italy and France.

The mood at the expo was certainly upbeat with exhibitors and visitors excited about the newest technologies, latest products and emerging trends.

One major theme that was evident at the expo is the move towards creating technologies and products that are efficient and environmentally sustainable. With legislators passing laws requiring tyre manufacturers to be more stringent in their quality assessments as well as consumers being more environmentally conscious, it was evident that rubber and tyre companies are pushing the envelope to create products and processes that will meet the standards set by legislators and consumers.

For example, German speciality chemicals company, Lanxess, took the opportunity to showcase its neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) for “green” tyres. Ethan Sigler, Marketing Manager for India and Southeast Asia, Butyl Rubber and Performance Butadiene Rubber (BTR), said, “We see that there is a high awareness of the green movement in Thailand and we see that the business community is already beginning to embrace the position of zero carbon emissions.”

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Thailand played host to the first ever Rubber Technology Expo 2012, held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) from 8-10 March. There certainly appears to be a global megatrend leaning towards environmental consciousness and sustainability and the showcase of materials related to this at the show proves that Southeast Asia is no stranger to the ecodebate.

Catering to the boom for “green” tyres ome September this year, Lanxess will break ground on its 140,000 tonne/year-Nd-PBR plant in Singapore. The EUR200 million facility will be built in Jurong Island, adjacent to the company’s EUR400 million butyl rubber plant (to come on stream in 2013), and is expected to start up in 2015. The company has firmed up a long-term supply agreement for butadiene with Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS), which is building a new butadiene extraction unit and associated infrastructure necessary to supply the raw material.

Nd-PBR used in “green” tyres – the fastest growing sector in the tyre industry, with an annual global growth rate of about 10%. Growth is more pronounced in Asia at 14% per year. It is for these reasons that the German firm is en route to building its Nd-PBR plant.

Sigler also said he forsees a near future in which consumer and business awareness of “green” tyres become the norm for the automotive market.

Indeed, governments around the world are making it their business to pass through laws that require manufacturers to be accountable for their actions towards the environment. One such piece of legislation

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To kick-start its Nd-PBR plant in Singapore, Lanxess Chairman Axel Heitmann and Managing Director of PCS Akira Yonemura recently firmed up the butadiene supply agreement

5 APRIL 2012

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Country Focus that has made headlines recently is the forthcoming EU tyre labelling regulation, which will be enforced in July 2012. It will require all tyre-makers to use standardised labelling stating three key tyre performance qualities: fuel consumption, wet grip and rolling noise.

Global growth in mobility is forcing national legislators to push the use of low-rolling resistance tyres in order to protect the environment and the climate. For instance, studies show that road traffic alone accounts for 18% of global CO 2 emissions while tyres are responsible for between 20 and 30% of a passenger car’s fuel consumption and approximately 24% of its CO 2 emissions. It therefore makes sense that the EU has decided to cut CO 2 emissions by starting with “greener” tyres and it will not be alone for much longer. In Asia, South Korea and Japan have embraced the movement and other Asian countries are expected to follow suit.

“We are seeing a number of global trends in the tyre industry, the largest being the effects of the EU tyre labelling legislation. In addition, we also see increased awareness regarding fuel efficiency as well as the impact of carbon emissions on the environment and Asia is a part of these trends,” Sigler remarked.

Nd-PBR is the next generation technology of butadiene rubber, which uses other catalysts such as cobalt, titanium and lithium catalysts. It is used to make the treads and sidewalls of “green” tyres to create optimal rolling resistance that will then increase a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and reduce CO 2 emissions. In addition, by using NdPBR, the tyres will have resistance to abrasion, flex cracking and fatigue, which not only improves safety but also adds to the life of the tyre.

Siegler said, “We have developed special-purpose rubbers and rubber additives that help cut the rolling resistance of tyres by up to 30% without having a negative impact on their wet grip and service life”. This alone means that fuel consumption of a passenger car is reduced by up to half a litre per 100 km and its CO 2 emissions by 1.2 kg per 100 km. “This way,” he says, “ tyres made of our specialpurpose rubbers are already making an important contribution to climate protection.”

Others catch on too anxess was not the only company showcasing its “green” technology. Companies promoting rubber chemicals such as Behn Meyer Chemical, Jebsen & Jessen Chemicals and machine maker REP International, as well as a host of other companies were also on the same track, with the EU tyre labelling legislation being the main catalyst.

The organiser also took the opportunity to put together three specialised conferences and six training programmes concurrently.

While some of the training programmes were highly technical in nature, ranging from topics such as the use of polyolefin elastomers in crosslinked applications, storage instability of natural rubber-filled with fly ashes and novel functionalised synthetic rubbers for tyre applications, other lectures covered general trends and challenges faced by the industry.

Senior executives from the global rubber and tyre industry were invited to share their insights on various issues. For example, Louis Rumao, a rubber industry consultant from the US, gave a lecture on effective marketing techniques for rubber industries, while John Dick of Alpha Technologies, also from the US shared his thoughts on solving problems in rubber processing.

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