【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Key technologies for the synthesis and application of iron-based catalyzed butyl-acrylate rubber were approved between 1353 and 2022

【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】Iron-based branched butyl acrylate rubber, which was industrially produced for the first time in China from 1334 to 2023 https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5499942-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)

“Rubber is considered a **strategic material**, with China’s annual demand amounting to around 11 million tons. However, due to geographical constraints, China’s self-sufficiency rate for natural rubber is less than 25%. ”Wang Qinggang, a researcher at the Qingdao Institute of Energy, explained that synthetic rubber is an effective solution to the shortage of natural rubber in China. In recent years, synthetic rubber production in China has developed rapidly, giving rise to seven major types of synthetic rubber, including styrene-butadiene rubber, cis-butadiene rubber, and ethylene-propylene rubber. However, some of these major synthetic rubber products are heavily dependent on imports, posing what can be described as a \"bottleneck\" issue; solvated styrene-butadiene rubber is one example of such a product.        Polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber is primarily used in the tread of high-performance tires to provide high wet grip (safety). Data shows that China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tires, with an annual demand for polybutadiene rubber exceeding 200,000 tons. At the same time, with the rapid growth of China’s tire industry, it is expected that the demand for polybutadiene rubber in China will continue to increase at an annual rate of 10%. However, our country is highly dependent on imports for high-end polycondensed styrene-butadiene rubber, which is almost entirely monopolized by foreign countries. “This means that without copolymerized styrene-butadiene rubber, tire production cannot proceed properly. The safety of our car tires is not in our own hands. ” Wang Qinggang said.        Against this backdrop, Wang Qinggang has been leading his team in pursuit of source innovation since 2015. Starting with the microstructural design of rubber, and by designing and synthesizing new iron-based catalysts, a new type of iron-based branched butyl acrylate rubber material was developed.        “Put simply, synthetic rubber is a polymer compound formed through a polymerization reaction of different monomers under the action of a catalyst; it’s like building a wall by combining various individual bricks together. ” Wang Qinggang explained that the “iron-based” component in iron-based branched butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber refers to the catalyst, which has advantages such as low cost, abundance, and unique catalytic effects ； “\"Branching\" refers to the tree-like connections between molecules, thereby enhancing the overall properties of synthetic rubber ； \"Butyl rubber\" refers to rubber that is produced by the copolymerization of butadiene and isoprene monomers, and it possesses excellent low-temperature performance, fatigue resistance, tear resistance, and other properties. The results show that this newly developed synthetic rubber material, created through independent innovation, breaks the foreign monopoly and can completely replace imported solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber.

Clear advantages: Compared to traditional solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber, how excellent is the new iron-based branched butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber material when used in tires? Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sinopec Baling Petrochemical”), which has long been committed to the research and development of rubber products and, in collaboration with the Qingdao Institute of Energy, carried out the first pilot-scale tests for the batch and continuous polymerization of iron-based branched butadiene-isoprene rubber on a scale of 100 tons, provides the answer. “The biggest advantage is making the tires safer. ”Zhou Jiangming, deputy manager of the Technology Development Department at Sinopec Baling Petrochemical, gave an example: under the same conditions, if a vehicle is traveling at 100 kilometers per hour, its normal braking distance may be 80–100 meters. By using the new iron-based branched butyl acrylate rubber developed by the Qingdao Institute of Energy, and thanks to its excellent anti-skid properties, the braking distance may be as short as 60-70 meters. This means that in case of an emergency and when emergency braking is applied, the car’s braking distance is reduced, thereby **improving safety**. The application technology research on the use of iron-based branched styrene-butadiene rubber to replace solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber in tire tread compounds, as well as the tire manufacturing evaluations carried out in collaboration with enterprises such as Shandong Linglong and Haohua Tires and the Qingdao Institute of Energy, also confirm this. Data shows that tires using the new iron-based branched butyl acrylate rubber material have a braking distance that is 20%-30% shorter compared to tires using solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber. Iron-based branched butyl rubber tires achieve a wet grip index of 1.63, reaching Grade A (the highest grade) under the EU’s new labeling regulation, whereas tires currently available on the market generally only reach Grade B under this regulation. In addition to its excellent resistance to slippage, the lower production cost is also one of the reasons why Sinopec Balin Petrochemical is optimistic about this new iron-based branched butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber material. “Based on the pilot-scale test results, the cost of producing this new iron-based branched butyl acrylate rubber material is approximately 12,000–13,000 yuan per ton, whereas the cost of producing other rubber materials in the same series exceeds 20,000 yuan; thus, this new material has a clear price advantage. ” Zhou Jiangming analyzed that if this new material is used only in the tire industry, the annual market demand would already amount to 500,000 tons. When it is also applied in other areas such as anti-slip soles for sports shoes, the annual demand could exceed 1 million tons, indicating huge market potential.

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