Rubber compounding agents are in strong demand in the tire field, and rubber antioxidants are their representative products.

Rubber compounding agents, also known as rubber compounding agents, refer to additives that can determine the service life, production cost and physical and mechanical properties of rubber. There are many types of rubber compounding agents. According to different functions, they can be divided into vulcanization accelerators, auxiliary accelerators, vulcanizing agents, reinforcing agents, plasticizers, antioxidants, fillers, softeners and foaming agents.

In April 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the “Determination of Silica Content of Precipitated Hydrated Silica in Rubber Compounding Agents (HG/T 3062-2023)” and “Fumed Silica for Rubber Compounding Agents Silicone Rubber (HG/T 6160- 2023)” and many other chemical industry standards. Against this background, standardization has gradually become the main development direction of my country’s rubber compound industry.

There are nearly a thousand types of rubber compounding agents. Common products include vulcanization accelerators, vulcanizing agents, antioxidants, etc. Among them, rubber antioxidants account for nearly 40% of the rubber compounding market share. In recent years, as the global rubber industry has gradually shifted to Asia, my country, as one of the main producers of rubber antioxidants, has seen a continued growth trend in output. In 2022, my country’s rubber antioxidant production will reach 487,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%. With the rapid development of the rubber antioxidant industry, my country’s rubber compound market space continues to expand.

According to the “2023-2028 China Rubber Compound Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Rubber compounding agents are auxiliary materials for rubber products, and the tire field has the largest demand, accounting for nearly 60% of the demand. Rubber compounding agents are mixed with natural rubber to prepare all-steel radial tires and bias tires. All-steel radial tires have the advantages of good side-slip resistance, strong wear resistance, large load capacity, long service life, safety and stability, and are representative products in the automotive tire market. According to statistics from the Tire Branch of the China Rubber Industry Association, my country’s all-steel radial tire production will reach 150 million units in 2021, accounting for 22% of the total automobile radial tire production. Driven by market demand, the prosperity of my country’s rubber compound industry will further improve.

Attracted by market prospects, the number of companies in the rubber compounding industry in my country continues to grow. However, at present, my country lacks leading companies and the market competition pattern is relatively fragmented. Yuanxiang New Materials, Yanggu Huatai, Tongcheng New Materials, Sennic Chemicals, Shangshun Chemicals, Kemai Chemicals, etc. are the main manufacturers of rubber compounding agents in my country. In the future, as local companies continue to optimize the industrial structure layout, my country’s rubber compounding agent production capacity is expected to be released, and its industry concentration will increase by then.

Industry analysts said that as auxiliary materials for rubber products, rubber compounds are rich in types and have excellent performance. As the prosperity of the downstream industry increases, Its market size will be further expanded. my country is a major producer and consumer of rubber compounding agents, but the current market is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, and the industry concentration is low. It is expected that in the future, companies with high-quality and high-performance rubber compound production capabilities will occupy more market shares in my country.