BOUNCING BACK: HOW FUTURE OF RUBBER PRODUCTS AND TIRES KEYNOTE SPEAKERS SEE TOMORROW TRENDING

The global rubber market is shifting with customer expectations as well as sustainability targets largely driving material and manufacturing innovations across the sector:

(1) All-Bio Tires – Major tire companies will gradually transition from petroleum-based rubbers to bio-based materials like guayule and dandelion rubber derived from plant-based latexes producing up to 90% lower emissions. With improved consistency and properties, bio isoprene alternatives will dominate commercial tires and fabricated rubber goods by 2040.

(2) Recycled Rubber Marketplace – Syndicated closed-loop recycled rubber supply chains will emerge as tire manufacturers heavily invest in recycling technologies like pyrolysis, devulcanization, and reclaiming processes to turn end-of-life tires into raw materials for retreading businesses. Replacing virgin material with recycled compounds will dominate.

(3) Nanoparticle Enhanced Rubber – Doping standard SBR and NR with carbon nanotubes, graphene, and inorganic nanoparticles will enhance properties like mechanical strength and durability without compromising reactivity. It will facilitate lightweighting applications in goods like seals, gaskets, belts, and medical tubing. Potency at low concentrations reduces cost hurdles.

(4) 3D Printing with Silicone – Room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber optimized for extrusion, DLP, and SLA 3D printing will enable customized fabrication of high performance rubbers from molding to seals to flexible joints. Printing eliminates multi-step molding for many components, simplifying personalization and rapid prototyping.

(5) Smart Tires – Sensors embedded into tires for real-time measurement of inflation pressure, temperature, depth, load pressure, etc. will prevent blow-out or failure accidents. Monitored tires with chips allow predictive rather than reactive maintenance based on digital tread and casing analysis sent directly to garages.

With sustainability being a business imperative, the rubber industry will commercialize a range of innovations around renewables, recycling, and advanced materials over the next decade to keep pace with eco-demands while still benefiting from properties making rubber irreplaceable across countless critical applications.