Teijin Frontier, the Teijin Group's fibres and products converting company, has developed an eco-friendly tire cord made from an adhesive that does not contain resorcinol formaldehyde (RF), which is harmful to the human body and the environment, and also incorporates a low-environmental impact chemically recycled polyester fibre for rubber reinforcement.

According to the company, this is the world's first commercialisation of a tire cord that combines an RF-free adhesive and a chemically recycled polyester fibre.

Teijin Frontier will now begin to develop reinforcing-fibre applications for various rubber products, including tire cords, belts, hoses and other diverse uses. The company will start test production of its new tire cord in 2023, targeting annual production of 200,000 tons by 2030, the company said in a press release.

Teijin Frontier, guided by its THINK ECO environmental initiative, is striving to improve its environmental value by developing greener materials and products for applications ranging from clothing to industrial materials. The new tire cord is a result of the company’s increasing emphasis on low-environmental impact solutions.

Due to its use of an adhesive polymer compound instead of RF, the new tire cord reduces the environmental impact of adhesive processing. In addition, due to its strong affinity with fibres and rubber, its adhesion performance is equivalent to that of conventional resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) adhesives. Also, its chemically recycled fibres, which are made from polymers produced with chemical recycling methods, maintain their strength, fatigue resistance, dimensional stability and heat resistance. Compared to conventional tire cords made from petroleum-derived polyester fibre, the new tire cord achieves the same levels of quality and performance in addition to reducing CO2 emissions during production.

The demand for more eco-friendly tires is growing due to rising environmental awareness. In response, Teijin Frontier has been actively developing eco-friendly materials and products for tires as well as other rubber products. In 2008, it launched the world's first tire cord incorporating chemically recycled polyester fibre, and in March 2020 the company introduced an eco-friendly rubber-reinforced fibre cord that does not contain RF.

The newly developed tire cord will be exhibited at the International Tire Exhibition and Conference, one of North America's largest tire-related exhibitions and conferences, in Akron, Ohio from September 13 to 15.