Environmentally friendly resorcinol-formaldehyde-free adhesive systems for textile-rubber composites

Technical textiles deliver solutions for a wide range of applications such as reinforcements for mechanical rubber goods (MRG) and composite materials. The surface of reinforcing fibers and in particular the interphase between the fiber and rubber matrix is essential to meet these challenges and specific requirements. Resorcinol-Formaldehyde-Latex (RFL) chemistry is at the core of textile reinforcements for the application in mechanical rubber goods such as tires, timing belts, hoses and air springs.

Due to regulatory issues, formaldehyde has been recently classified as carcinogenicity category 1B substance and according to the EU commission regulation No. 605/2014 these new legal obligations apply to producers, importers and downstream users. As a result of this re-classification, mixtures containing free formaldehyde contents of 0.1% or more are required to be labelled as carcinogenic i.e. H350, as they may cause cancer. Since Resorcinol is also in focus, there is therefore an immediate need to look for alternative cross-linking systems for technical fiber reinforcements in the field of MRG.

This article comes from mehler-ep edit released