Weserland: New Environmentally Friendly Accelerator Combinations For Vulcanisation
The Hanoverian specialists for latex vulcanisation have developed solutions that provide contemporary, environmentally friendly vulcanisation. Suprotex L 1527-1, which was specially tailored this to the requirements of the mattress industry comes with a reduced proportion of ZDEC which reduces emissions of volatile nitrosamines without performance loss.
Latex processing has indeed a long tradition and was already described as the state of the art more than 50 years ago by Madge (EW Madge, Latex Foam Rubber, Maclaren & Sons Ltd., London, 1962). Different kinds of latex (synthetic and / or natural latex), foam auxiliaries and stabilizers, the vulcanisation principle system (consisting of sulphur, zinc oxide, accelerators and anti-aging agents) as well as optional fillers come into use in this industrial process.
This so-called compound is mechanically mixed with air, filled into moulds or applied to substrates and finally vulcanised in an oven. Thus the chains of the latex molecules are linked by sulphur bridges. By certain means (said accelerators) reaction time, temperature and required amount of sulphur can be significantly reduced. Nowadays guanidine derivatives, dithiocarbamates and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole derivatives are preferred individually or in combination.
The residues from the vulcanisation are discussed more and more intensively because of environmental and sustainability reasons. They have ultimately led to limits that are more and more difficult to complied with by classic accelerators.
Therefore related requirements from our customers reach us regularly. Hence we like to introduce a brand new case and its solution by Weserland:
ZDEC (zinc diethyl dithiocarbamate) may form volatile nitrosamines during vulcanisation. These are suspected as being carcinogen substances.
Task for Weserland: A large supplier with about 20 per cent market share of the latex mattress market required a reduced emission level of more than 0.5 g / m³ (Euro Latex 1.0 g / m³) of volatile nitrosamines in accordance with the requirements of the Euro Latex Eco-Standard. Contrary to the Euro latex legal limit this can hardly be realised with conventional accelerator systems anymore.
Our solution: Our Suprotex L 1527-1 with a cut-rate proportion of ZDEC reduces emissions of volatile nitrosamines without loss of performance under the more stringent emission standard of 0.5 micrograms / m³. This product has been specially tailored to the requirements of the mattress industry. This then offers an easy to implement solution of the nitrosamine problem.
