On November 29, a seminar on amending the Guidelines for Recommended Green Raw Materials sponsored by the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) and co-organized by Sennics took place at the Sinochem International Plaza. More than 70 people attended the seminar, representing key players across the value chain of the rubber industry including manufacturers of tires, rubber hoses & tapes and other rubber products as well as producers of carbon black, rubber additives and framework materials. They got together to talk about how to innovate and pursue green operations in the rubber industry in response to the national call for fulfilling the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" strategy and initiating green transformations.
Chen Hongbo, Vice President of the SBU of Chemicals, and Party Secretary and Chairman of Sennics, delivered a speech at the seminar. He said that, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, customers in both international and domestic markets are expecting greener rubber products, and there is a trend that the production processes and raw materials used by rubber manufacturers are becoming green and environment-friendly, which provides a strong boost for the manufacturers of raw materials to innovate and also leads to new technologies and new products. He added that, as one of the manufacturers serving the rubber industry, Sennics is willing to work with other manufacturers to keep improving the ability to innovate independently and pursue sustainable development, to drive its growth through core technologies and patents, and to do its part in contributing to the industry's green and sustainable development.
Huang Yigang, a senior engineer in the National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Tire Machinery and Key Materials, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, introduced how the Guidelines for Recommended Green Raw Materials will be amended from four aspects: the origin of the project, the background and necessity for the amendment, the train-of-thought and process for the amendment, and the agenda of the seminar. The attendees reached a consensus on how to amend the guidelines, and discussed the properties of specific products in four categories identified in the guidelines: rubber materials, reinforcing materials, additives, and framework materials.
In 2015, the first edition of the Guidelines for Raw Materials Used in Green Tires was released, which was proved to be remarkable in helping the rubber industry, especially tire manufacturers achieve transformations. Due to the rapid progress of technologies and the update of tire regulations, some of the guidelines have become outdated. The upcoming amendment will distinguish raw materials from four dimensions: materials based on petrochemicals, partially bio-based materials, bio-based materials, and recycled materials. The new edition of the guidelines will not be limited to raw materials used for making green tires. It will also include raw materials used for making all kinds of rubber products such as green rubber products, green conveyor belts, and green rubber hoses. The new edition will specify overall product requirements, main ingredients, applications, product quality & performance requirements, technical indicators, and testing methods.