Improved Economics Through Scorch Control

Abstract

In the present economic climate, a major objective for most manufacturers is to decrease product costs. In the rubber industry, raw materials tend to be the first target for such cost reductions. However, optimization of mixing and processing operations has a greater potential for cost and energy savings without increasing labor and capital costs or compromising performance. Scorch safety is often a major factor limiting mixing and processing rates. The development of prevulcanization in hibitors has largely overcome this basic limitation and permits the achieve ment of higher mixing and processing throughput. This paper describes applications of a prevulcanization inhibitor for increasing output in the mixing operation and converting two-stage to single-stage mixing cycle. The measurement of total power consumption during mixing enables the savings in energy produced by such changes in cycle to be readily assessed. The same principle has also been applied to permit faster processing speeds during calendering and extrusion.