Tosoh has begun sales of the newly developed SG Series, a new grade of Skyprene chloroprene rubber composited with cellulose nanofiber (CNF) that has been adopted as a material for Bando Chemical’s transmission belts. CNF is a biomass-derived high-performance material that is one-fifth the weight of steel but more than five times stronger, and is expected to be a substitute...
Materials
Asahi Kasei Raises Prices of Styrenic Thermoplastic Elastomers
Asahi Kasei has raised the prices of styrenic thermoplastic elastomers for shipments from April 1. The price increase is 70 yen ($0.46) or more per kilogram for styrenic thermoplastic elastomers, including Tufprene and Asaprene T, and 120 yen or more per kilogram for hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomers, including S.O.E. and Tuftec. The company said that with the recent sharp rise...
Mitsui Chemicals Launches Products Made of Decomposed Waste Plastic Oil
Mitsui Chemicals has started manufacturing and selling chemicals and plastics derived from chemical recycling by mass balance method, using pyrolysis oil made from waste plastic. Decomposed waste plastic oil procured from Fukuyama City-based CFP has been fed into crackers at the Osaka Works of Mitsui Chemicals in Takaishi City since March 13. In the future, the Mitsui Chemicals will market...
Eneos Material Raises Prices of Elastomers and Latex
Eneos Material announced on March 22 that it will raise the prices of elastomer and latex products for deliveries from May 1. The price increase will be 12 yen ($0.08) or more per kilogram for Eneos Material’s elastomer and latex products, $120 per ton for BST Eneos Elastomer’s elastomer products, and €170 ($184) per ton for Eneos Mol Synthetic Rubber’s...
Arlanxeo to Build HNBR Plant in China
Arlanxeo announced on February 29 plans to build a hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) plant in Changzhou, China. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons, and the first phase of construction will produce 2,500 tons of high-quality rubber per year. Operations are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025. Marketed by Arlanxeo under the...
Synthetic Rubber Production Down 16% in 2023
Synthetic rubber production for 2023 totaled 1,158,183 tons, down 16.0% from the previous year, according to a report by the Synthetic Rubber Industry Association. Production of general-purpose rubber, mainly used for tires, fell sharply, with SBR down 10.9% and BR down 15.5%. The Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA) reported a 3.4% decline in tire production for the same year....