Butyl and Halogenated Butyl Rubbers

Summary

Butyl and halobutyl rubbers are predominant among elastomers from which, respectively, tyre inner tubes and curing bags, and tubeless tyre inner liners, are made. These are their primary applications, but various grades of the two classes of rubbers are also widely used in products as dissimilar as sealants, pipe wrapping systems, vehicle body mounts, pharmaceutical bottle closures, acid resistant tank linings, reservoir and roofing membranes, and chewing gums.

This chapter presents a brief treatment of the history, chemistry, manufacture, applications technology of butyl and halobutyl rubbers, itemising significant developments and current trends. Most of the formulations listed do not contain ingredients that are known to be hazardous, reference is made to lead oxides and substituted dioximes as curatives, with the expectation that compounders will give due consideration to toxicological factors when selecting compound ingredients.