Dr Andreas Topp, Vice President Material and Process Development and Industrialisation at Continental Tires, and Kordsa CEO Ali Çalışkan. © Kordsa/ Continental

Continental and Kordsa have together developed a new sustainable adhesive technology standard for bonding textile reinforcing materials with rubber compounds. Reinforcing materials of this kind are used in the tire industry, as well as in the production of mechanical rubber goods like hoses and conveyor belts.

The new technology enables the bonding activation of textile reinforcing materials without the use of resorcinol and formaldehyde. Continental intends to manufacture the first series-produced tires using this technology in 2019. “We are working continuously to introduce more environmentally friendly products in the interests of our employees, society and the environment,” commented Devrim Özaydin, Global Technology Director at Kordsa.

The two partners are offering the new bonding system technology to all other tire manufacturers and the supplier industry as an open source solution under the brand name Cokoon. Free licensing will be handled by the independent law firm Advinno. Continental and Kordsa have chosen to waive development or licensing fees. In return, they expect licensees to make their patents concerning the further enhancement of this technology available to the other partners free of charge via a licensing pool.

“We need to break new ground to master the upcoming challenges the future will hold,” explained Dr Andreas Topp, Vice President Material and Process Development and Industrialisation at Continental Tires. “The tire industry can send out a clear signal of its responsibility and innovative power by joining to this environmentally friendly open source technology.”

Until now, the chemicals resorcinol and formaldehyde have been irreplaceable in the bonding activation of textile reinforcing materials to ensure robust adhesion to the surrounding rubber matrix. As these substances are chemically altered by the vulcanisation process, they do not escape from the finished products into the environment. With Cokoon dip technology, the bonding of textiles to rubber is now possible without these two substances and can be applied without changing process equipment.

www.cokoon.com