Rubber Process Oil: An Indispensable Industrial Use Substance
Rubber Process Oil is defined as a mixture of different processing products such as paraffinic, naphthenic, and aromatic compounds that can be of any molecular weight. It is used majorly in the rubber industry, followed by some other end-user industries. Rubber oil is produced when the crude oil undergoes the distillation process and is obtained during the composition, the chemical reactions, and the isolation materials that are extracted and is called the Raffinate and in addition is compatible with the polymers of rubber. Rubber process oils are used across a wide variety of industries and are available in different grades and viscosities in order to cater to the different applications.
Current Scenario in Rubber Processing Oil Space
The rising demand for rubber process oil in different applications
There is a rising demand from different industries such as automotive, manufacturing, construction, electronics and electrical among others. In the automotive industry, it used or applications such as the production of tires. It can be made into tires of various sizes for use in a variety of vehicles such as military and defense vehicles, large trucks, carrier vehicles, small trucks, passenger cars, commercial vehicles among others. It is used as a type of flooring material in the construction industry, it is used to make footwear that is durable and is an essential component in the lifestyle of the population, and also, it finds various other uses.
Product offerings in rubber process oils to unlock more possibilities
There are market players that are involved in the provision of enhanced and advanced product offerings in order to cater to the rising demand for rubber processing oils from different industries. Some of the examples are listed below-
- HP Lubricants, one of the leading companies dealing in the provision of lubricant and petroleum products offers their ELASTO SUPREME range of Treated Residual Aromatic Extract (TRAE) rubber processing oils in three product grades, which have different chemical and physical properties. The products are “HP ELASTO 165”, “HP ELASTO 245” and “HP ELASTO 255”. These products are increasingly suitable for use as plasticizers. The first product is suitable for use in EPDM Rubbers, the second product is suitable for use in butyl and ethylene-propylene rubbers and the last product is developed specially and specifically for use in footwear applications such as shoe soles.
- Panama Petrochem Ltd., one of the leading companies that are dealing in the provision of products and solutions for different industries such as petroleum, rubber, and textile. They offer three different grades and types of rubber processing oils. They sell their products under the brand name ‘Panol”, wherein the products are “ PANOL C 160-A”, which is a type of processing oil having an Aromatic Base. The “PANOL C 160-P”, which is a type of oil having a Paraffinic Base and lastly, the PANOL C160-N, which is a product that has a Naphthenic Base. In addition, these oils that are being provided strictly adhere to the European Regulation and are non-carcinogenic and other types of oil such as TDAE, RAE, and Mild Extracted Solvent 9MES) are also being offered on request.
- Total, one of the leading brands catering to the demands of different industries by the provision of different fluids, offer rubber processing oils under the Special Fluids product portfolio. The two types of products that increasingly used are “PLAXOLENE” and “PLAXENE”. The products are best used as plasticizers and possess the following qualities; they are easily able to facilitate the reduction of the viscosity of the rubber compounds., they increase the solvency and the compatibility of the rubber mix, they are able to effectively enhance the mechanical properties. The products that are offered are “PLAXOLENE 50”, “PLAXOLENE TD 346”, “PLAXOLENE NL 239”, “PLAXOLENE MS 132” and “PLAXENE”. The “PLAXOLENE 50” is a type of a Residual Aromatic Extract (RAE), “PLAXOLENE TD 346”, which is a type of a Treated Distillate Aromatic Extract (TDAE), and works to enhance the properties of the tires such as rolling resistance, and better gripping among others. “PLAXOLENE NL 239”, is a type of a product, which is a non-labeled product (NLP).
Therefore, these efforts being made by the market players will aid in increasing the rubber processing oils market size.
The availability of different types of rubber processing oil and the importance of different grades, density, and viscosity among other properties
Rubber processing oils are available in different types, which have different properties and are able to cater to different applications more effectively. The different types of rubber processing oils are-
Distillate Aromatic Extract (DAE) is a type of aromatic oil that has undergone a large number of aromatic cycles in their composition, and are often characterized due to their low aniline points are and used mainly for the manufacture of polarized rubbers that belong to the styrene-butadiene category or are of natural rubber type.
Treated Distillate Aromatic Extract (TDAE) is a type of oil that does not harm the environment, finds applications in tire production, tape and rubber industries. It is used in generally carrier oils, as a plasticizer as a diluent of as a filling agent.
Residual Aromatic Extract (RAE) is a type of rubber that has a high viscosity and is an aromatic process oil that is derived from the residual oil fractions and is generally used as an extender oil in the automobile industry for the production of rubber tires. In addition, the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon content is less than 1 parts per million (ppm) and the total PAH content is lesser than 10 parts per million (ppm).
The viscosities and the grades among other properties of the rubber process oils are also important as these should lie between specific values at the specific temperatures at which the oil is being used in order to yield the full capabilities of the oil. The properties such as the kinematic viscosity, which defines the capacity of the fluid to resists the internal forces and the gravitational forces, and the flashpoint, which defines the lowest temperature at which the liquid gives of the vapor. That means that the lower the flash point is, the liquid is ignited more easily.
