Rubbers, both synthetic and natural are commercially used to produce products from rubber bands to a toy to the giant tyres for various vehicles including aircrafts.
Rubber Process Oils are used at during mixing of rubber compounds. These help in improving the dispersion of fillers and flow characteristics of the compound during further processing. IPOL Rubber process oils are specially developed taking into consideration the type of rubber and the end product applications.
The range of IPOL Rubber Process Oils is broadly divided in following three categories.
Aromatic types : The primary characteristics of aromatic hydrocarbons are the presence of the double bonded mix ring carbon structure. Aromatic extracts procured from selected refineries and suitably blended to meet stringent specifications, are used for compounding batches to manufacture Tyres, calendared and molded sheets, Tread rubber etc.
Naphthenic types : Naphthenic are a class of hydrocarbons also referred to as ‘cycloparaffins’. Though their structure is similar to the aromatic ring, these are single bonded thus having a stable structure. Several such hydrocarbon rings may be linked indicating a variety of available grades. Their unique colour stability, solubility and good thermal stability makes them ideal for molded articles, slippers, LPG tubes, floor tiles, etc.
Paraffinic types : This class of hydrocarbons constitutes branched chain or straight linked hydrocarbon molecules of various viscosities. As the chain length increases, the viscosity increases and the rubber process oil becomes more viscous. They find extensive usage in EPDM, Butyl rubbers. IPOL grades include Paraffinic oils with high viscosity and high flash point for better shelf life of the end product. The high viscosity and high flash point IPOL paraffinic oils are extensively used in EPDM profiles for automotive applications.
In addition to these three types IPOL has a range of non carcinogenic low PCA ( Polycyclic aromatics ) oils meeting EU regulation. The range includes Mild extracted solvate (MES) type and Residual Aromatic Extract (RAE) type of oils. MES are blend of special heavy paraffinic oils while RAE are aromatic extracts. Both the types have Polycyclic aromatics content (as tested by IP 346 ) of less than 3% as required by EU regulation.