Looking at alternatives to natural rubber, off-highway tyre manufacturer
BKT is a global manufacturer based in India, while Kultevat specialises in green technology, and especially the extraction of high-quality dandelion rubber from Taraxacum kok-saghyz (Russian dandelion), or TKS, using an environmentally friendly process.
This is seen as a renewable and sustainable alternative for natural rubber.
The purpose of the agreement is the development of new compounding methods based on TKS rubber to be integrated in the tyre manufacturing process.
All studies, analyses, experimentation and testing will be carried out at BKT´s recently-inaugurated, modern Research and Development Centre, known as Suresh Poddar Innovation Hub, stretching over an area of more than 10 hecatres within the company’s latest and largest production site in Bhuj, India.
The R&D Centre was officially inaugurated last year with the announcement of a series of ambitious projects related to sustainable materials, including research into alternatives to natural and synthetic rubber as well as the development of high-performance compounds with nanomaterials and nanocomposites.
This major R&D project is part of the company’s commitment to sustainability and innovation as well as fully in line with latest industry requirements and the
The agreement qualifies as a joint research agreement under US patent law, and BKT, which has a certain expertise in the development of compounding methods relating to rubber, aims at developing compounding methods involving TKS rubber to be integrated as a new, renewable and sustainable raw material into the manufacturing process for off-highway tyres.
The agreement involves a first project stage with several sample deliveries in 2018, whereas Stage 2 of the project provides for the supply of 1tonne of stabilised TKS rubber to Bhuj by October 2019.
BKT says that TKS rubber will gradually replace or reduce the use of natural rubber. Having gained some general understanding of the physical and chemical behavior of the new raw material and the development of the first compounding methods, BKT says more specific analyses, testing and experimentation will follow to learn about more specific performance criteria such as behaviour if exposed to mechanical stress; fatigue resistance; tensile strength; durability and resilience, and cut, tear and heat resistance.
Several formulations will be tested for the development of semi-finished compounds to obtain best tyre performance for the specific requirements of the most varying applications in the fields of agriculture, earthmoving, port and mining, ATV and industrial applications.
According to the findings, it might be necessary to modify existing production processes and equipment.
BKT says that the agreement between itself and Kultevat “assumes enormous significance” considering that the World natural rubber consumption is expected to be 17 million tonnes by 2025.
It says the increasing global demand, especially in the tyre industry, will soon lead to a shortage of this raw material.
Hevea brasiliensis is a native tree from South America and presently the only commercial source for natural rubber, which is mainly produced in Asia.
The issues about Hervea is the long lead time, which means that crops need at least 6-8 years before they can be harvested for the first time, says BKT.
“In addition, there is land scarcity for plantation in the Equatorial Zone. To meet the demand, 8.5 million hectares of additional plantations would be required. This cannot but lead to a dead end in a very short time,” says BKT.
Like other tyre manufacturers, BKT has been working on substitute raw material solutions, mainly guayule and dandelion.
BKT has opted for dandelion because of its higher latex content.
The plant grows annually even in moderate climates, and its roots contain about 15% of latex, which can be used as raw material for making rubber.
Russian dandelion was used during another period of rubber shortage in Europe after Second World War but its use became basically forgotten after the invention of synthetic rubber.
“Kultevat's commercialisation strategy calls for the company to sell into specialty rubber markets at the outset while the company continues working with BKT to develop products for their purposes,” says Daniel R. Swiger, CEO of Kultevat.
“We have engaged a number of customers and are currently growing TKS for processing and rubber for prototype and testing purposes. We expect commercial sales of rubber beginning 2019.”
Dilip Vaidya, BKT president and Director of Technology, says: “BKT has always been committed to innovation allotting requisite amounts regularly to Research and Development, since we consider these investments the key to success for competing in a complex global market with rapidly evolving needs.
“The agreement with Kultevat for TKS rubber is a great step forward in our R&D activities in terms of both sustainability and innovation.
“This project is fully in line with the goals expressed in our R&D Mission, to research and develop cutting-edge materials technologies to support future BKT business challenges in terms of innovative product technology.”
