New antibacterial rubber most suitable for food, m

New antibacterial rubber suitable for food, medical and other fields

the world is full of bacteria, mold and yeast. Some of these things are beneficial to human beings, while others will pollute food, affect its smell or completely deteriorate it. Rubber is easily attacked by microorganisms because of its chemical structure. This is because the plasticizers, lubricants and rubber friction and wear tester detect that the material components based on classification rubber are rich in hydrogen, which has become a hotbed for microbial growth. The use environment of rubber products is often warm and humid, which further accelerates the proliferation of microorganisms. As a result, the factory will shut down, dismantle and wash or even replace rubber parts in a short time due to health needs

in order to reduce and inhibit the growth of microorganisms inside and on the surface of rubber, chemists mixed antibacterial additives into artificial rubber. These organic compounds can resist bacteria for a short time, but they can not fully protect the rubber from invasion. BASF moved the headquarters of its global business unit of battery materials from the United States to Shanghai, because with the passage of time, they will gradually lose their antibacterial function. And the safety of these biocides is also facing the test of safety

in order to solve this problem, a new type of hot vulcanized rubber (HCR) that can adapt to various production applications is becoming a new favorite in the eyes of scientists. Experiments show that the products treated with this technology can well control the breeding of microorganisms on its surface and inside. A new patented biocide used in this rubber has not been lost over time. Such rubber products have been completely and long-term antibacterial protection. Although the antibacterial function is so powerful, this technology has no special treatment method at all, and has been widely used all over the world, and can be adopted by almost any thermosetting rubber factory. This article will introduce the advantages of HCR and compare it with rubber without any treatment and added with common biocide

where to inhibit microbial activity

due to its own structure and use environment, some rubber products are easy to breed microorganisms and cause pollution on the production line. Food and beverage processing equipment, such as cutting boards, kitchen utensils, food conveyor belts and rollers, bear the brunt, as do medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers

products used in warm and humid environments are also prone to microbial breeding. Including the non slip mat of the restaurant, the water leakage seal of the window and bathroom, and the gasket and seal of the filter device

if these rubber parts are placed in places where it is difficult to do daily cleaning, then workers must often remove them for cleaning or even replacement

the products that can be made of antibacterial rubber include: cladding, sealing ring, gasket, O-ring, wheel, wheel foot, () vibrating film, bladder, packaging, gasket, pipe and belt. They can be used in the following fields:

◆ medical and pharmaceutical systems

◆ food and beverage processing machinery

◆ dairy processing equipment

◆ food storage containers

◆ filtration devices

◆ sporting goods Clothes and shoes

◆ sanitary appliances in shower room/Sauna Room/bathtub

◆ conveyor belts and rollers

◆ anti slip mats

◆ packaging equipment

◆ building materials

◆ swimming pool protective mats

◆ automotive HVAC pipes and so on

traditional biocides and their deficiencies

at present, the demand for antibacterial (am) products in the market is growing rapidly. Every year, more than 1billion people buy biocides in the fields of liquid soap production, health and beauty industry, underwear production, food processing, medical and health equipment, catheter and rubber cushion industry

in this battle against microorganisms, the best way is to take various ways to stop the spread of microorganisms. Therefore, chemical disinfectants should not only be often used on the rubber surface to maintain the sanitation of the surface, but also antibacterial additives should be embedded in the rubber structure to prevent the further spread of microorganisms

antibacterial additives

in order to improve the antibacterial efficacy, manufacturers have added many additives to organic biocides to help inhibit the propagation of microorganisms. At first, these additives were used to protect liquid products, such as latex paint, deodorant, shampoo, liquid soap and disinfectant, etc. later, they were slowly applied to solid products such as rubber

the series of additives added to rubber to help it inhibit microbial proliferation include:

◆ quaternary amine compounds

◆ organic arsenide

◆ organic zincate

◆ organic tin compound

but these additives have various defects. The most critical thing is that they will slowly run out of the rubber structure with the biocide, resulting in the decline or loss of antibacterial function

problems in the use of biocides

for organic biocides, the biggest problem is that it will gradually filter out of the rubber structure, so that the antibacterial efficacy of the final product will slowly deteriorate. Sometimes it even fails after only a few times

the loss of these organic components may also change the taste or smell of the product, making its taste disgusting or emitting an unpleasant smell

although it can inhibit the growth of microorganisms, organic biocides are often harmful to human body and the environment. Because there is potential toxicity, or the toxicity will be slowly released during use, some kinds of entry have been banned in the medical and food fields. At present, many environmental and health organizations are calling for limiting the use of organic biocides and advising users not to buy products containing a component called "triclosan". More organizations have proposed to ban the use of tributyl phosphate (TBT) globally before 2008

toxicity in the manufacturing process

the decomposition temperature of these organic biocides is generally at least 250 ℃. For substances like "triclosan", heating will volatilize it and its chloride, which will corrode rubber parts. In some cases, it may also decompose into dioxin, a highly toxic substance, or similar compounds

new silver based antibacterial rubber

due to the increasing demand for antibacterial rubber in the market, and the irreparable defects of traditional organic biocide, scientists began to develop a new inorganic biocide. Silver is stable and relatively safe, and it is a very good substitute

Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, once said in his book that the army of the Persian king used silver kettles to hold water, and later historians mentioned that Alexander the Great's army used similar vessels. Silver is widely documented for water storage and treatment. Some silver compounds are also used to treat ophthalmia and as adjuvants in the treatment of burns

unlike antibiotics and some biocides, the mechanism of silver inhibiting microbial growth is still unknown. But it is considered to be very safe and extremely low toxicity to human body. In fact, thousands of years ago, people used silver as material to make utensils for food, water cups, jewelry and decorative kitchen utensils

however, the problem faced by using silver to replace organic biocides is that traditional methods will cause irreversible chemical reactions between silver ions and sulfur, making them inactive. Moreover, silver in rubber is also easy to be oxidized, making its surface lose luster. The chemists of merican chemical are developing silver based antibacterial rubber with high efficiency and long life

a hot vulcanized antibacterial rubber called elastorguard has just applied for a patent technology. This kind of rubber can well inhibit the proliferation of bacteria, mold and yeast on the rubber. And after a long time of use, the activity will not decline, even if it is washed many times and the surface is repeatedly rubbed. The antibacterial components are very stable, and will not volatilize when heated to 800 ℃, and will not be lost by baking, exposure and even corrosion. It will not affect the color of the rubber, so the product can be made into white or bright. The most important thing is that it has the same antifungal and antibacterial functions, which is very rare in traditional biocides

this new rubber treatment technology can also bring the following benefits to rubber products:

◆ small compression deformation

◆ anti thermal aging

◆ bright color

◆ no odor

◆ more resistant to hydrogen sulfide

summary

a new silver based antibacterial technology - which can be widely used in the production process of thermosetting elastomers - can make rubber resist the invasion of microorganisms for a long time. Different from the material damage after the experiment of the previous organic biocide, the antibacterial component will not be lost from the rubber structure, and a series of problems caused by the organic biocide are completely avoided. This component can withstand the high temperature during the processing of rubber products and does not need additional protection when contacting most of the organic solutions. High temperature, high pressure or being cut will not affect the performance of the product

"elastorguard" rubber has been put into commercial production in merican chemical. It can replace the vast majority of natural rubber standard products in the current market, from low-end EPDM and NBR to high-end fluororubber. It can also have a variety of shapes, including plates, rubber belts, thin sheets, etc. it has become the first aluminum processing enterprise in China to successfully trial produce large aircraft siding materials. As long as it is needed by users, it can basically be processed

"elastorguard" rubber is very easy to carry out post-processing and cutting, and coating is also very convenient