Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. has launched a new eco-minded adhesive for rubber reinforcing fibers that does not use resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) but still achieves the same level of performance as conventional methods. The new adhesive will be test marketed beginning this year. The company is targeting annual production of 200,000 tons in 2028.
Resorcinol-formaldehyde latex (RFL) adhesives have long been used to reinforce rubber products, such as tires, with fiber to maintain strength and morphological stability. In recent years, however, demands have been growing for solutions that do not use RF, which has been shown to have harmful effects on the human body.
The new adhesive uses a non-RF blended polymer for bonding. The polymer, which is reticulated by intermolecular interaction, achieves a high level of adhesiveness, equivalent to that of an RFL adhesive thanks to its high affinity for both fiber and rubber.
