Butyl Rubber in Tire Treads: A review of a little known major industrial R&D program
Abstract: There are times when the synthetic rubber industry develops a major research program which is basically unknown to the general rubber industry at large and in academia. This presentation will review one such industrial R&D program with respect to the attempt in introducing synthetic butyl rubber in tire treads by both butyl and tire manufacturers. There was a large investment in time and money based on the patents filed over several decades in trying to incorporate butyl rubber in tire treads. This work can be traced back to the 1950’s with most of the scientific work being documented in the patent literature with the latest patents appearing in the 2010’s. As of today, it appears that butyl rubber still has not been successfully introduced in treads in commercial tires. We will examine the literature to understand the driving force and interest in introducing butyl rubber in the tire tread. The available technical information in the patents will be assessed as well as using common rubber knowledge in an effort to understand why butyl rubber has not yet been successfully introduced in commercial tire treads. The presentation will conclude with a discussion if there are any pathways and if there is still any interest for the introduction of butyl rubber in tire treads.
Bio: Gilles Arsenault received his BSc in Chemistry from Mount Allison University and his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Guelph University. After completing a Post-Doc with Dr.Puddephatt at the University of Western Ontario, he joined Polysar in Sarnia in 1987. His professional experience includes 28 years in the synthetic polymer industry with Polysar and its subsequent successors (Bayer Rubber, Lanxess, ARLANXEO). He held various positions in many business units (HNBR, PBR, SBR, Butyl) in R&D, Manufacturing, Analytical, and Regulatory Affairs. He also spent 5 years (2003-2008) at Wellington Laboratories as the Synthetic Group manager where he helped develop and market new mass-labeled PFAS analytical standards. He retired in December 2020 and is now an adjunct professor at the Chemistry department at the University of Western Ontario where he donates his time in providing occasional lectures in third/fourth year BSc courses in Polymer, Industrial and Analytical chemistry. He is also collaborating with professors on various polymer projects and is keeping busy working in the laboratory.