This guide to compounding elastomers with precipitated silica covers principles, properties, testing, and formulations from a practical perspective. Ample discussion of compound specifications adds to the usefulness of the book to practitioners. Comparisons of carbon black and silica compounds throughout the book allow the reader to select the most suitable formulation for applications ranging from tires to electrical insulation to footwear.

From the Preface: “...In [one] respect, the book may be called a technical service manual, and will provide a sound starting point for those chemists and engineers engaged in compound development. An accompanying objective is to explore and explain the mechanism of silica reinforcement. Wherever a compounding study reveals unexpected deviation in processing or vulcanizate properties, an attempt is made to explore and explain the crosslinking or reinforcing mechanism involved. In this respect, the book is entitled to the classification of compounding textbook...Although much of the material has been published in the form of technical articles, a considerable amount is presented and discussed here for the first time. Data in the tables have been excised from non-confidential PPG laboratory reports...”

Target Audience: Rubber chemists and compounders; sales and marketing specialists working for suppliers of silicas and other chemicals used in the rubber industry; and researchers and students in academia who are concerned with elastomeric compounding.

Table of Contents:

Silica as a Reinforcing Filler

Compounding Precipitated Silica in Natural Rubber

Compounding Precipitated Silica in Emulsion SBR

Compounding Precipitated Silica in Solution SBR and BR

Compounding Precipitated Silica in EPDM

Compounding Precipitated Silica in Neoprene

Compounding Precipitated Silica in Nitrile

Appendix A:Compounding Basics

Appendix B: Compounidng Materials

Appendix C: Rubber Processing

Appendix D: Physical Testing of Rubber

Appendix E: Common Compounding Abbreviations

Index