LANXESS Launches New Rubber Additive to Make Tires More Durable

LANXESS' new rubber additive Vulkanox HS Scopeblue helps tire manufacturers to produce more sustainable, longer-lasting tires and achieve their sustainability goals.

The antidegradant produced by the specialty chemicals company is a sustainable variant of the proven antioxidant Vulkanox HS (TMQ), which tire manufacturers can use to effectively protect their products from the adverse effects of oxygen and heat. The additive is also characterized by low volatility and a low tendency to migrate.

Compared with conventionally manufactured products, Vulkanox HS Scopeblue has a carbon footprint that is more than 30 percent lower. This is achieved by using bio-recycled acetone and renewable energy in the production process. The mass-balanced product is produced in an ISCC PLUS-certified plant in Germany. Since the overall chemical structure of the product remains unchanged, no modifications to the tire manufacturing process are required and customers can use Vulkanox HS Scopeblue as a replacement to produce more sustainable tires.

The additive is sold under the LANXESS Scopeblue brand, which stands for products with a particularly low carbon footprint or a high proportion of recycled raw materials. “With Vulkanox HS Scopeblue, we have developed another product that enables our customers to produce tires more sustainably and meet the growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly materials,” said Dr. Holger Graf, head of the Functional Tire Additives business line at the LANXESS Rhein Chemie business unit. “With this antioxidant, we can extend the service life of tires while reducing their ecological footprint.”