Special Report

Series on rubber — part 2

Styrene-Butadiene Rubber: A Techno-commercial

Profile

S
tyrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) is SBR technology developments have tive concentration of 1,4 and 1,2 units
a random copolymer produced, continued even though the business may influence the thermal stability of
as the name suggests, from sty- is mature. Developments are being the polymer. The oxidative degradation
rene and butadiene. prompted by tyre producers that are of the rubber starts from the addition of
looking for elastomers with improved oxygen on a double bond: if the double
SBR was the first major synthetic performance characteristics. The flexi- bond is part of the main chain, as in the
rubber (SR) to be produced commer- bility of solution processes has enabled case of 1,4 units, the reaction will lead
cially. Early grades produced in Ger- producers to develop ‘tailored’ SBR to a chain scission.
many by Buna S and in the United grades, which improve the combination
States by Standard Oil Company/The of mechanical properties (e.g. traction Types of SBR
Rubber Reserve Company during the — grip; handling — ride, cornering There are two major types of SBR,
Second World War were based on the performance, performance at speed; based on the manufacturing process
emulsion polymerization technology and rolling resistance) and processing adopted:
developed by I.G. Farbenindustrie AG characteristics. Emulsion SBR (e-SBR); and
of Germany. Solution SBR (s-SBR).
More recently, producers have fo-
During the 1960s, the first solution cused on the capability to use additives At the very beginning of their devel-
polymerized random SBR grades were to vary the stereochemistry of the diene opment, s-SBRs suffered from process-
produced commercially by Firestone polymerization and to control polymer ing problems, due to their narrow mo-
and Phillips. The original aim was to micro- and macro-structure to produce lecular weight distribution (MWD). As
produce SBR with lower styrene con- solution SBR grades with optimum a matter of fact, the main problem for
tent than achievable by emulsion poly- properties. s-SBR to overcome has always been the
merization to counteract the increase in non-interchangeability with the e-SBRs
styrene prices. Chemical structure and properties commonly used by tyre producers; the
The peculiar nature of the insertion limited number of grades coming from
SBR is the workhorse of the rub- of butadiene on the growing chain, i.e. the emulsion process makes it easier
ber industry, even though some of its the 1,4 and 1,2 additions, together with to switch from a supplier to the other,
properties do not match those of natu- the two possible 1,4 addition isomers, without any re-configuration of the pro-
ral rubber (NR). What it lacks in elon- cis and trans, suggests it would be more cessing machines and procedures.
gation, hot tear strength, hysteresis, re- appropriate to refer to SBR as a four-
silience and tensile strength, it makes monomer copolymer. So one of the main efforts of s-SBR
up for in better processability, slightly producers has been the search for a bet-
better heat aging and better abrasion This remark acquires a particular ter processability, which is obtained by
resistance than NR. Probably the most meaning if we consider the physical modifying polymer macro-structure
important factors in the commercial and rheological characteristics of the (i.e. MWD and long chain branching).
viability of SBR have been its wide finished polymer. The balance between In this sense, the use of coupling agents
availability, low cost compared with the structural unit content of styrene, like SiCl4 and SnCl4 in the batch anio-
those of all other SRs, ability to accept 1,4- and 1,2-butadiene along the chain nic synthesis provided a way to broaden
high filler levels, relatively stable price is the most important parameter affect- the MWD, adding a star-shaped struc-
compared with that of NR and overall ing the glass transition temperature (Tg) ture at the same time.
properties on a cost/performance ba- of the material. Most interestingly, the
sis. concentration of 1,4 trans units has a In order to maximize market share,
strong influence on the strain-induced automotive companies have conti-
Principal applications are in tyres crystallization of the rubber, which nuously developed vehicles with su-
and tyre products, automotive parts and means a reinforcing effect on the tensile perior performance and durability (in-
mechanical rubber goods. ultimate properties. Moreover, the rela- creased mileage). This has resulted in

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increasingly stringent tyre performance They also find widespread use in process has largely replaced the hot
specifications. These have been partly bitumen modification and in adhe- emulsion polymerization process for
met by redesigning the structure com- sives. production of e-SBR grades.
ponents (i.e. tread patterns and refor-
mulating compounds). In spite of their Production technology Basics of emulsion polymerisation
resistance, tyre producers have found There are three conventional routes Styrene and butadiene monomers
no alternative to s-SBR grades for to producing solid SBR: polymerize in the presence of an emul-
highly specified tyre components for Hot emulsion polymerization; sifier (fatty or rosin acid soaps), an ini-
high performance tyres. The need for Cold emulsion polymerization; and tiator system, a modifier (mercaptan)
reducing fuel consumption led to the Solution polymerization. and water. Initiator agent in case of cold
definition of specifications also for the polymerization is the redox reaction
rolling resistance of the tread material: Each process produces SBR grades between chelated iron/organic peroxide
in the US the CAFE (Corporate Aver- with different properties. and sodium formaldehyde sulphoxylate
age Fuel Economy) regulations are as reducing agent.
gradually pushing in this direction. The Hot emulsion polymerization
market is getting more and more de- Hot emulsion polymerization is The MWD is primarily controlled
manding in the aforesaid specifications the original SBR process. The major by addition of mercaptan, which termi-
and such performances improvements characteristic of this process is that nates the growing chains, besides initi-
cannot be achieved with e-SBR, mak- these grades have exceptional process- ating the new ones.
ing a gradual trend toward the use of ing characteristics in terms of low mill
s-SBR inevitable. shrinkage, good dimensional stabi- Polymerization takes then place at
lity and good extrusion characteristics. the mild conditions typical of emulsion
s-SBR grades now have comparable However, high levels of micro-gels are polymerization, controlling at the same
styrene content to emulsion types and also produced, so there is a trend to- time the reactants flow rate up to the
these grades have superior mechanical wards using the cold emulsion grades in addition of the shortstop agent – when
properties e-SBR. many applications.
However, they are
Typical e-SBRs contain 18% cis; still used in ap-
65% trans and 17% vinyl butadiene plications such as
forms. adhesives and flow
modifiers for other
s-SBRs may be divided into two elastomers where
categories: good flow proper-
Random copolymers (80%): The ties are required.
market for the random copolymers
is completely dominated by the Cold emulsion
tyre industry (95%). These types polymerization
are usually extended with compa- Cold emul-
tible oil. They are blended with sion polymeriza-
other types of rubber, including NR, tion produces
and mixed with reinforcing fillers SBR grades with
(carbon black and/or silica), oil and superior mechani-
vulcanising chemicals to produce cal properties,
the tread compound where they im- especially tensile
prove wet grip and decrease rolling strength and abra-
resistance, thus improving fuel con- sion resistance,
sumption; compared to the
Partial block types (20%): The par- grades produced
tial block types are used in rubber by the hot emul-
flooring, carpet underlay, footwear sion polymeriza-
and in many other applications. tion process. This Figure 1: Flow diagram of the e-SBR production process [Ref. 3]

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desired conversion is reached – which the so-called ‘green tyres’ which exhi- enables the synthesis of polymers pos-
rapidly reacts with free radicals, block- bit low rolling resistance and therefore sessing a very narrow MWD and less
ing reaction. improved fuel economy. chain branching.

Residual butadiene and styrene are In initially making s-SBR grades Solution rubber plants are generally
then removed from the short-stopped producers attempted to replicate the integrated into larger production sites,
lattice, which is first stabilized by stereochemistry of e-SBR grades. How- which deliver the required feedstocks
addition of appropriate antioxidants ever, solution polymerization differs (solvent and monomers), electricity,
and then coagulated by using an inor- from emulsion polymerization due to steam, treated water and take back the
ganic acid and chemical aids to regulate its flexibility and enables SBR grades solvents for purification or combustion.
crumb dimensions. with varying styrene/butadiene ratios However, some plants generate their
and cis, trans and vinyl contents to be own steam and treated water and import
The coagulated crumb is then produced by varying the catalyst and the monomers and solvent.
washed, dewatered, dried, baled and the monomer ratios and process condi-
packaged. tions. This enables s-SBR producers to Generally speaking, a solution di-
produce grades specifically tailored for ene rubber process can be sub-divided
The major cost in e-SBR manufac- individual applications. into the following process steps:
ture is the purchase of monomers. The
Purification of monomers and
monomer price is dependent on the Most s-SBR producers have issued
solvent;
crude oil price, but can fluctuate quite patents relating to various aspects of
Polymerisation;
widely due to other reasons. s-SBR production. However, there are
Hydrogenation (if applicable);
basically two commercial processes
Blending section;
About 70 % of e-SBR is used for used to produce conventional s-SBRs.
Solvent removal;
the manufacture of car tyres, in particu-
Product isolation; and
lar in the tread where it confers a good Phillips process
Packaging.
balance between wear resistance and Commercial Phillips processes are
wet grip. e-SBR is also used to manu- batch (although the patents cover both
The chemicals used are:
facture conveyor belts, flooring and batch and continuous polymerization)
carpet underlay, hoses, seals, sheeting, and produce a branched polymer with The monomers (styrene and buta-
footwear and a large number of other comparatively narrow molecular weight diene, in this case);
rubber goods. distribution. Phillips is no longer in The catalyst (usually n- or s-butyl
the SBR business, but this process is lithium or Ziegler-Natta catalysts
Solution polymerization being utilized by a number of European based on transition metals such as
Solution polymerization grades producers including Repsol, Petrochim neodymium, titanium and cobalt);
have superior mechanical proper- and Dow in Italy. The process has been The solvent (commonly cyclohex-
ties, particularly tensile strength, licensed by Petrofina in Belgium in the ane, hexane, heptane, toluene, cy-
low rolling resistance and handling 1990s. clopentane, isopentane or mixtures
(encompasses traction under a vari- thereof); and
ety of conditions and performance Firestone process Process additives like coupling
at different speeds, when cornering The Firestone process is continuous, agents, structure modifiers, extender
etc.), when used in tyre applications. producing s-SBR grades with more or oil, killing agents and product sta-
The ratio of butadiene configurations less linear chains and a comparatively bilisers.
varies. Generally speaking, s-SBR broad molecular weight distribution.
grades have a lower trans and vinyl Carbon dioxide, water, oxygen, alco-
content and a higher cis-butadiene Basics of solution polymerization hols, mercaptans and primary/secondary
content than e-SBR grades. The basic principles of the two solu- amines interfere with the activity of alkyl-
tion processes are the same. s-SBR is lithium catalysts, so the polymerization
s-SBR is of particular importance made by termination-free, anionic (liv- must be carried out in a clean, near-an-
because of the improved performance ing) polymerization initiated usually hydrous condition. Stirred bed or agitated
and flexibility of the grade range. It is a by alkyl-lithium compounds. The ab- stainless steel reactors are widely used
preferred component with silica filler in sence of a spontaneous termination step commercially.

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Polymerization is carried out in a Therefore, the majority of recent steps to facilitate better interaction
solution of inert aromatic or aliphatic developments have been undertaken by with the reinforcement system. This is
solvent. The polymerization rate of the tyre companies themselves, rather one of the most radical developments
butadiene in the presence of lithium- than the SBR producers who were more affecting the rubber industry, since it
based catalyst is lower than styrene. active in the past. enables silica to significantly displace
However, when butadiene and styrene carbon black as the favoured rein-
are mixed, the rate of polymerization is Property optimization of SBR has forcement for tyre applications.
reversed, resulting in block copolymer been achieved, to some extent, by con-
production with a high proportion of ventional s-SBR technology. By modi- SBR is generally compounded with
butadiene blocks. Block formation may fying the way in which monomers are a vulcanization system, reinforcing fil-
be suppressed since the property re- added, the polymerization conditions ler (usually carbon black), processing/
quirements of traditional SBR markets and the use of co-catalysts and rando- extending oil, and an antioxidant/stabi-
cannot be met by block copolymers. mizing agents, the proportion of cis and lizer package, prior to molding/fabrica-
Random copolymerization is encour- vinyl isomers and the chain structure tion. Tyre compounds frequently use a
aged by incorporating into the solution of the tailored polymers can be altered. combination of elastomers in order to
‘randomising’ agents such as dialkyl Nevertheless, the overall properties of achieve optimum properties in the final
and heterocyclid ethers, which act as the tailored s-SBRs sometimes fall short application.
Lewis base on the catalyst, or by con- of expected tyre industry requirements.
trolled monomer charging (i.e. some of Markets for synthetic rubber (SR)
the styrene is added later in the poly- The automotive industry is under con- World consumption of SR grew by
merization cycle). tinuous pressure to improve the environ- 4.6% in 2006 to reach 12.4-mt, compared
mental performance and the useful life of to 11.9-mt in the previous year, and by a
The resulting copolymer is precipi-
automotive components. s-SBR produc- further 6.7% in 2007 to 13.2-mt. How-
tated, separated, dried and baled.
ers are responding by modifying conven- ever, the consumption in 2008 fell by 5%,
tional s-SBR technology to develop grades compared to consumption in 2007, ac-
with optimum combinations of rolling re- cording to the International Rubber Study
sistance, wear resistance, blow-out resis- Group (IRSG). Global production of SR
tance, chipping/chunking resistance, road also fell by 5% in 2008 over 2007.
traction under a variety of weather condi-
tions, handling, noise transmissions and SRs share of the total rubber market
other performance properties for different edged up slightly from 56.7% in 2005 to
tyre applications. 57.3% in 2006 and 57.5% in 2007. This
share however, fell to 55.5% in 2008.
There are a number of ways in
which these improvements are being Consumption of SR in North America
achieved: declined by 0.5% from 2.228-mt in
Figure 2: Flow diagram of the s-SBR
production process [Ref. 3]
Reformulating compounds using high 2005 to 2.217-mt in 2006 with the
performance additives in conjunction decline accelerating a further 3.5% in
Technical developments with tailored s-SBR grades; 2007 to 2.14-mt. The consumption in
In recent years, SBR developments Developing novel additives/modi- 2008 declined further by 11% to 1.89-
have predominantly been initiated by fiers that can be added to the SBR at mt, according to IRSG statistics.
the tyre industry. This is not surprising the compound stage; In contrast, SR consumption in Asia/
considering several of the SBR produ- Further modification of polymeriza- Oceania grew by 9.4% from 5.24-mt
cers have put up their assets for sales in tion conditions to enable both block in 2005 to 5.73-mt in 2006 and by
recent times (e.g., Polimeri in Europe, and random copolymerization; 11.1% to 6.37-mt in 2007, but de-
DSM in the US). This is partly due to Introduction of post-polymerization clined in 2008 by 4% in 2008.
the commoditization of the business steps to enable better control of co- The European Union also recorded
and the butadiene price rise, which are polymer end-group structure, thus strong growth in SR consumption,
difficult to pass on to the tyre industry. significantly altering the properties increasing by 7.5% from 2.52-mt in
This has created severe pressure on of the resulting SBR; 2006 to 2.71-mt in 2007, but declined
margins for SBR producers. Introduction of post-polymerization by 6% in 2008.

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Table 1
Technical parameters for a typical s-SBR plant
Product type s-SBR, batch or continuous type
Reactor type and size Continuously stirred tank reactors in series or batch reactors, 10-100m3
Monomer addition Simultaneous addition of styrene and butadiene
Number of reactors in use Up to 10 depending on the process
Polymerization pressure Up to 5-bar
Polymerization temperature and 30-100oC; control system based in external evaporators, cooling coils, adiabatic
control system
Catalysts/initiators Various anionic initiators (usually n-butyllithium)
Structure modifiers Various ethers, e.g. THF, TMEDA
Shortstops Water and/or fatty acids
Conversion of monomer to polymer 95-99%
Antioxidant p-Phenylenediamine derivatives, phenolic types, phosphite types
Extender oil Highly aromatic, treated distillate aromatic extract (TDAE), mild extract solvent
Capacity per reactor line Typically 30,000-tpa
Table 2 Table 4
Synthetic rubber production  World consumption of elastomers —
[kilotons] by region [2006]
2008 2009 Market Share
2007 2008 size [tons] [%]
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
North America 2,790 675 655 595 485 2,410 410 Asia-Pacific 11,637 54
Latin America 684 183 189 177 143 691 122 Europe 4,895 23
European Union 2,684 688 674 602 538 2,502 495 N. America 3,344 16
Other Europe 1,289 363 338 295 211 1,207 228 Rest of world 1,510 7
Africa 71 21 22 19 17 78 16
Total 21,386 100
Asia/Oceania 5,916 1,454 1,577 1,493 1,403 5,926 1,453
Source: Reference 4; IISRP
Total 13,434 3,383 3,454 3,180 2,796 12,813 2,724
Source: IRSG Table 5
Table 3 World consumption of synthetic
Synthetic rubber consumption elastomers — by region [2006]
[kilotons] Market Share
2008 2009 size [tons] [%]
2007 2008
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Asia-Pacific 5,954 48
North America 2,129 492 494 482 429 1,897 361 Europe 3,462 28
Latin America 864 222 228 233 207 890 180 N. America 2,113 17
European Union 2,514 692 678 543 459 2,372 419 Rest of world 889 7
Other Europe 1,014 249 256 233 174 911 168 Total 12,418 100
Africa 105 29 27 26 23 105 22 Source: Reference 4; IISRP

Asia/Oceania 6,527 1,607 1,704 1,594 1,370 6,274 1,405 Markets for SBR
Total 13,284 3,314 3,411 3,142 2,719 12,586 2,566 SBRs are the largest-volume SR,
Source: IRSG accounting for about 46% of world

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Table 6 As a result, world is most widely used in the manufacture

World consumption of synthetic elastomers – SBR production and of tread.
by type [2006] consumption showed
Market size Share little or no growth in Industry structure
[kilotons] [%] the 1980s and 1990s, Globally, SBR is a fragmented in-
but have shown steady dustry with little leadership. The situ-
SBR 5,775 47 growth since 2000 with ation in s-SBR is better than e-SBR,
Butyl rubber 3,311 28 consumption steadily where there is generally more market
EPDM rubber 1,664 11 increasing as a result of discipline and technology is harder to
growing consumption in obtain.
NBR 620 5 emerging regions (such
Chloroprene rubber 496 4 as China, India, South Global over-capacity in e-SBR has
Polyisoprene 312 3 America, Russia and led to a flood of low cost exports from
other parts of Asia). Eastern and Central Europe and Asia
High performance elastomers 240 2
into North America and Western Eu-
Total 12,418 100 With global demand rope, which has depressed prices and
Source: Reference 4; IISRP of about 5.8-mt per year production.
in 2006, SBR is the
consumption of SR in 2006, accord-
most popular SR. However, demand for Healthy market for Europe
ing to the International Institute of
natural rubber (NR) is still higher. Demand for SBR in Europe was re-
Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP).
ported to be healthy in 2007, with the
Historically, this percentage had been
SBR are the largest commodity rub- tyre sector performing strongly. Total
steadily declining (it was 57% in
ber consumed in China, Western Eu- SBR demand in Europe is expected
1976) because of the following major
rope, North America, Japan and the to grow around 2%/year with e-SBR
reasons:
Republic of Korea. China is the major growing at 1%/year and s-SBR by 4%/
consumer of SBR, followed by Western year.
The increasing popularity of radial
Europe, the United States, Japan and
tyres, which use less SBR and more
the Republic of Korea. The massive build-up of tyre capa-
NR than other tyre designs (e.g.,
city in central and eastern Europe has
bias-belted tyres); and
North America (United States and continued. Manufacturers including
Faster growth of other SR as a sub- Canada) is the only region in the world Bridgestone, Continental and Pirelli are
stitute for SBR (e.g., EPDM, nitrile that is expected to see a decrease in investing in extra production in Hun-
and polybutadiene rubbers), espe- SBR consumption in the period from gary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia and
cially in non-tyre applications. 2006 through 2011. The decrease is Russia over the next two years.
due mainly to
a decrease in European SBR producers are fac-
tyre produc- ing new EU regulations, due to come
tion – closing/ in force in 2010, which will prohibit
idling of tyre the use of high aromatic oil-extended
plants and tyre products in the manufacture of tyres.
production For vehicles sold in the EU, this means
moving off- a phased switch from the 1712 grade,
shore. specifically for tyres, to grades using
other products such as treated distillate
Nearly, 70% aromatic extract.
of SBR is con-
sumed by the China drives demand
automobile in- The growth market in Asia is
dustry for tyres China. According to China Chemical
Source: SRI Consulting
and tyre pro- Reporter, Chinese SBR demand rose
Figure 3: World consumption of SBR by region ducts where it by 21% in 2006 to reach 747-kt. How-

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ever, production only increased by 11% Table 8

to 571-kt, resulting in imports increas- Imports of SBR into India
ing by almost 60% to 187-kt. Quantity Value
[Tons] [Rs. Lakh]
Significant new SBR capacity is
planned for China. Country  2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08
Argentina 1,430.28 278.9 973.38 207.47
Lanzhou Petrochemical started up a
Brazil 9,833.92 5,209.10 7,174.45 3,764.76
100-ktpa unit at Lanzhou in March
2008; Taiwan 13,051.97 9,353.00 9,559.46 6,573.91
Bridgestone started up a 50-ktpa France 1,697.58 879.52 1,369.85 761.92
plant in Huizhou, Guangdong in Q2 Germany 6,426.96 7,258.86 4,788.07 5,243.53
2008;
Qilu Petrochemical is building a Indonesia 1,027.46 529.61 618.95 240.58
100-ktpa facility at Zibo scheduled Japan 1,455.19 3,743.04 1,459.61 3,377.98
for 2009 completion; Korea 25,233.36 49,744.62 18,036.86 35,309.25
A100-ktpa unit is being built by Du-
Russia 15,092.40 9,578.87 10,173.80 8,121.65
shanzi Petrochemical in Xinjiang,
due to for start up in 2010; and Singapore 1,192.49 21.13 614.82 16.41
A 200-ktpa facility is being built by Spain 819.27 789.76 700.63 751.88
Fushun Petrochemical in Liaoning,
Thailand 5,728.04 5,966.34 4,155.07 4,200.78
due to for start up in 2010.
UK 2,041.88 4,256.33 1,481.55 2,636.32
Indian SBR markets USA 3,067.34 4,497.11 2,710.55 3,529.87
There is no local production of SBR
in India (with the only plant of Syn- Total 93,015.09 106188.1 67,391.74 77,991.04
thetics and Chemicals at Bareilly (Ut- Source: DGCIS
tar Pradesh), having closed down) and Note: Only countries supplying more than 1,000-tons are listed
the entire requirements are being met According to reports, Japanese SBR India’s proximity to Europe and the
through imports. producers are planning to re-enter India Middle East also attracts supplies of
about 10 years after they moved out of Iranian, Russian, Italian and German
Imports have increased steadily to the market to focus more on their stable SBR.
about 100-kt and are mainly from Taiwan, domestic market and the burgeoning
Korea, Russia, Thailand and Brazil. Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Indian tyre industry
JSR, for example, has been making at- Total vehicle production including
Table 7 tempts to offload their surplus stocks in two-and-three-wheelers in India stood
Imports of SBR into India India. Zeon, another producer, has also at 10.8mn in the fiscal year ending
[Kilotons] expressed interest to participate in the March 2008, according to the Society
Year Imports Indian market. of Indian Automobile Manufacturers,
2000-01 36 while the country’s current annual SBR
India is a spot-driven and price-sen- demand is estimated at around 100,000
2001-02 49 sitive market that usually does not hold tons.
2002-03 63 much attraction for  contract-oriented
2003-04 76 and higher-priced premium products. India is among the few countries in
The Japanese SBR producers entered the world that has achieved self-suffi-
2004-05 70 the Indian synthetic rubber market in ciency in manufacturing of automotive
2005-06 93 the 1980s, but Korean producers sub- tyres. Little wonder, almost all inter-
2007-08 106 sequently dominated the market  be- national auto-majors present in India
cause  of a  more competitive pricing have rolled out their vehicles on Indian-
2008-09 100 strategy. manufactured tyres. Interestingly, while

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Table 9 industry has repeatedly asked for rec-

Indian tyre industry at a glance tifying this aberration of inverted duty
Turnover Rs. 22,500-crore structure, either by decreasing the im-
port duty on NR or by increasing im-
Production (Tonnage) 1.175-mt port duty on tyres.
Production – All cate- 82.1-mn
gories (Nos.) Another area that is a cause of con-
Exports (Value) : Rs. 3,500-crore cern for the industry is the dumping of
cheap tyres into the country. Subsequent
Number of companies 36 to the economic meltdown and dip in
Industry structure 10 large companies account for 95% of production demand in developed nations, countries
Radialisation Level - Passenger car tyres: 98% such as China are looking at potential
Current (as a % of total Light commercial vehicles: 18% markets and India is seen as a lucrative
tyre production) Heavy vehicles (truck & bus): 8% one. Already, we have seen more than
Figures are estimates for 2008-09
1,000% increase in imports of tyres
from China over the last few years.
the growth in auto sector has largely over. The sharp volatility in raw ma-
come from the entry of international terial prices, in particular NR prices, The reason why the tyre industry is
auto giants, the concomitant growth in has been the bane of the industry. The important is that it provides value-addi-
tyre industry has been driven largely by industry is also faced with a situation tion in a long chain from the plantation
domestic majors. wherein import of rubber as raw ma- (for NR) to the end-product (tyre). As
terial is discouraged, while import of much as 58% of the total NR produced
The tyre industry is highly raw tyres, as a finished product, is encour- in India is consumed by the tyre sector
material intensive with raw materials aged. The import duty on NR is a hefty and roughly over 0.6-mn NR growers,
accounting for 60% of industry turn- 20%, while that on tyres is 10 %. The are dependent on the tyre sector.

Table 10
Tyre production in India
[Lakh nos.]
Category 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Truck & bus 9,863 10,821 11,092 11,941 12,367 13,137 12,839
Passenger car 8,544 9,959 11,862 13,605 14,264 16,437 16,571
Jeep 1,384 1,440 1,462 1,272 1,368 1,467 1,469
Light Commercial Ve- 2,844 3,271 3,945 4,529 4,820 5,320 5,298
hicles (LCV)
Tractor front 1,125 1,148 1,311 1,383 1,754 1,814 1,842
Tractor rear 825 842 1,096 1,134 1,296 1,234 1,315
Tractor trailer 470 415 408 596 823 886 758
ADV 456 295 197 325 381 409 281
Scooter 9,875 9,274 9,992 9,519 9,643 11,604 10,882
Motor cycle 15,654 16,688 18,127 21,053 26,079 27,921 30,148
Moped 185 168 124 55 0* 0* 0
Industrial 309 295 377 514 635 733 568
OTR 51 74 89 106 115 141 136
Aero 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 515,585 54,690 60,082 66,032 73,545 81,103 82,107
Source: ATMA
Note: * From April 2006 moped tyre production included in scooter category

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Table 11
Tube production in India
[Lakh nos.]
Category 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Truck & bus 7,982 8,851 9,439 10,522 11,257 12,016 11,911
Passenger car 4,762 5,331 5,947 6,990 8,509 11,490 10,773
Jeep 1,038 1,056 1,040 1,066 1,132 1,416 1,411
Light commercial Vehicles
2,147 2,633 3,100 3,775 4,156 4,147 4,213
(LCV)
Tractor front 835 907 1,053 1,232 1,425 1,443 1,334
Tractor rear 231 187 140 165 213 181 184
Tractor trailer 5,750 5,624 6,439 7,044 7461 9,128 8,242
ADV 13,978 15,415 18,671 22,263 28,067 30,817 31,526
Scooter 176 270 347 227 0* 0* 0
Motor cycle 65 50 71 99 108 112 79
Moped 15 19 26 38 48 60 60
Total 36,979 40,342 46,273 53,421 62,376 70,810 69,733
Note: * From April 2006 moped tyre production included in scooter category
Source: ATMA

Table 12 Table 13
Raw material composition of tyres Composition of automotive tyres
Raw material Raw material Raw material Radial tyres1 Tyres2 Tubes3
cost [%]
Natural Rubber 34.8 44 5
Natural rubber 42
SBR 0.06 8.60 4

Nylon tyre cord 16

fabric Vinyl-pyridine latex 0.020 0.40
Carbon black 11 Polybutadiene rubber 12.36
Rubber chemicals 5 Carbon black 22 23 30
Butyl rubber 5 Nylon tyre yarn/cord 0.393 13
Polybutadiene rubber 6 wrap/sheet/fabric

SBR 5 Bead wire 3.36 4

Others 10 Butyl rubber 0 53

Total 100 Steel tyre cord 15.48
Represents cost as a percentage of total raw Rubber chemicals 2 2 2
material cost
Zinc oxide 2 2 2
Raw materials Misc. materials 7.5 8.0 8.0
The tyre industry is highly raw-
Total 100 100 100
material intensive. Raw material costs
1: Automobile steel belted radials per 100-kg tyre
accounts for about 63% of tyre industry 2: Automobile tyres reinforced with nylon/rayon tyrecord/wrap sheet per 100-kg
turnover and 70% of production costs. 3: Automobile tubes per 100-kg
The cost of rubber is the single largest 4: Includes SBR and PBR
component of raw material costs.
3. Best available techniques in the mers Conference, Frankfurt, Ger-
References production of polymers, European many 2007.
1. Chemsystems PERP program, Commission, Oct. 2006. 5. Polimeri Europa, Technical Bulle-
New Report Alert, January 2004. 4. An overview of the high perfor- tin on e-SBR process technology.
2. Chemical Industries Newsletter, mance elastomers market, Martin 6. China Chemical Reporter, Feb 6,
SRI Consulting. W. Lee, High Performance Elasto- 2009.

Chemical Weekly October 27, 2009 191