Waxes In The Rubber Industry

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Waxes are used in the rubber industry for the production of rubber hoses, conveyor belts, rubber toys, fitting gloves, tires, gaskets and many other similar rubber applications.
Waxes have the following applications in rubber industry:
 It acts as antiozonants, by migrating on to the surface a thin protective layer is formed insuring protection against ozone attack and brittleness. Paraffin Wax gives rapid protection for newly produced goods but in case of microcrystalline Wax, It guarantees slow release and long lasting protection. The delicately formulated balance between paraffin waxes and microcrystalline waxes guarantees the control of migration insuring the quick acting and long lasting.
 Wax is used as a carrier for protective chemicals.
 Wax is used as mold release agent, anti-aging agent, plasticizer and lubricant in the rubber and tire industry [26].
Rubber on exposure to air or sun light produces cracks, and if any tensile stress is applied the cracks appears clearly. To avoid these cracks so far it has been known to use the antioxidants from amines and those from wax. Usually amines are subjected to a chemical reaction selectively with ozone and consumes the ozone in the surface layer of rubber to prevent the rubber from aging under statical or dynamical conditions, whereas wax incorporated in a rubber exudes to the surface to form a thin film, which prevents the rubber from contacting with ozone to produce an antioxidizing effect, particularly under statical conditions. Moreover, generally the above two kinds of agents are used together at the same time. The antioxidant wax for rubber relates to the latter, namely, the statical antioxidant [27].
Since old times various antioxidant wax for rubber have been availab...

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...pends upon the solubility/mobility or sorption/desorption characteristics of the specific wax under a given set of environmental conditions [28].
Following are the factors which influence migration include
 Time
 Temperature of storage after cure
 Wax concentration
 Wax composition
 Amount and type of filler
 Extender oil present.
These factors make it difficult to choose a wax which performs effectively over a broad temperature range. Paraffinic waxes usually protect better at low exposure temperatures, whereas microcrystalline waxes are more effective at elevated temperatures. In this case wax blends offer a wider temperature range of protection. An optimum migration temperature exists for each wax, and Dynamic thermal Analysis (DTA) can predict this optimum. Best ozone resistance is also attained at the temperature corresponding to optimum wax migration

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