Lanxess is to globally forgo the use of DAE oils in the production of synthetic rubbers from Dec. 1, 2009 onwards. To safeguard the supply of ­alternative products, Lanxess's Performance Butadiene Rubbers (PBR) business unit will enter into a strategic co-operation with Swedish oil producer ­Nynas.
The widely used DAE oils are processing oils with a high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. They are considered to have a negative impact on the environment and human health. This is the reason why the use of these processing oils in tires sold in Europe and Japan will be banned by law from 2010 onwards. An environmentally friendly substitute is provided either by TDAE oils or naphthenic oils.
Nynas globally supplies oil specialties without any restrictions. The products are precisely developed for tire production. From a technical viewpoint they are an equivalent alternative to TDAE oils. Lanxess started in 2006 to continuously switch all its rubber producing processes over to environmentally friendly oils at its European production sites, with all of them now being completely free of DAE. At the Brazilian subsidiary Lanxess Elastômeros do Brazil, a logistics network will be established in the near future to ensure a smooth transition to naphthenic oils.