• Evonik expands its range of rubber additives for tire applications 

• POLYVEST® ST can significantly reduce rolling resistance in tires 

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

Green tire 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 tires. “By combining the existing technology with POLYVEST® ST, tire manufacturers will now be able to further optimize their products,” says Dr. Kai-Steffen Krannig of Evonik’s Innovation Management. “This is the latest chapter in our long history of successfully developing rubber additives for the tire industry.” 

The special feature of the new development is this: According to a fundamental principle in the tire industry, known as the magic triangle, any improvement in one of the core properties of a tire— 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.

From February 14 to 16, 2017, Evonik will present POLYVEST® ST and other product solutions for the tire industry at the Tire Technology Expo 2017 in Hannover, Germany at our booth C816.