Rubber compounding environmental requirements

A number of the materials used in the rubber industry to prevent sticking of hot rubber compounds to themselves or machinery have a certain degree of environmental hazard associated with them and thus require controlled application. Machinery for this purpose is designed to minimise any atmospheric pollution. 

Environmental conditions likely to be encountered by aircraft in cortring years can be expected to become more severe, coinciding with advances in aerospace technology. Specialty synthetic rubbers will be needed for the aircraft industry s future sealing requirements. Although rubber compounding techniques on these specialty rubbers, as well as conventional nitriles and neoprenes, have been adopted by seal manufacturers, much research is still needed from leading rubber and chemicals manufacturers R D laboratories and institutions. 

There are several drawbacks to the use of self-bonding compounds which are worthy of mention. To make a self-bonding compound, one must modify the properties of the bulk rubber compound in order to affect the chemistry of the reactions which are required to take place only at the rubber to metal interface. Processing is adversely affected since the compounds want to bond to the mould and metals alike, and the environmental resistance of the rubber to metal bond is generally poor compared to that which is obtained with the use of a conventional rubber to metal adhesive system. 

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