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Evonik expands range of rubber additives for tyre applications

Polyvest ST can significantly reduce rolling resistance in tyres, thus lowering CO2 emissions

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Tyre

Last Updated : Feb 15 2017 | 5:28 PM IST

Evonik is expanding its silica/silane system, and with it the technology of modern tyre production. Newly developed Polyvest ST has the potential to further decrease rolling resistance in tyres, thus significantly reducing the environmental impact and fuel consumption of vehicles. This has been confirmed in tests on natural rubber-based compounds.

Green tyre technology, which uses precipitated silicas and rubber silanes like Si 69 and Si 266 from Evonik’s portfolio, already reduces rolling resistance by up to 30 percent relative to carbon-black-filled tyres. “By combining the existing technology with Polyvest ST, tyre manufacturers will now be able to further optimise their products. This is the latest chapter in our long history of successfully developing rubber additives for the tyre industry,” stated Dr Kai-Steffen Krannig of Evonik’s Innovation Management.

According to a fundamental principle in the tyre industry, known as the magic triangle, any improvement in one of the core properties of a tyre - rolling resistance, wet grip, and abrasion resistance - is always at the expense of at least one of the others. Evonik’s new development further improves the compatibility of silica and rubber in combination with Si 69 or Si 266, thus pushing out the boundaries of the triangle. And Krannig is optimistic that skilled formulation will yield even greater improvements.