Custom Butyl Rubber (IIR) compounding
Preferred’s comprehensive custom compounding resources help you get the most from the many available varieties of butyl rubber, also known as IIR or isobutylene-isoprene.
Butyl is available in the base form butyl rubber and the halogenated versions chlorobutyl rubber (CIIR) and bromobutyl rubber (BIIR). Within these, butyl rubber suppliers offer many grades and variations.
Butyl properties
In addition to being an effective air barrier, IIR, CIIR and BIIR rubber have low permeability to gases and moisture, resist heat, aging and weatherization and remain flexible at low temperatures. They provide good resistance to acids and base chemicals and can be compounded with a wide range of durometer and tensile properties.
Butyl elastomers typically show poor oil and flame resistance and rebound. Bromobutyl and chlorobutyl offer several advantages over regular butyl. These include improved cure rates, adhesion and compatibility with unsaturated polymers. Additional improvements in heat and ozone resistance and compression set are possible through compounding recipe development.
Butyl rubber applications
Because butyl is nearly impermeable to air, it is valued in numerous airtight applications, including tire inner tubes and curing and ball bladders. It is also used in adhesives, caulks, sealants, gloves, pharmaceutical stoppers, vibration dampening and protective clothing.
IIR, CIIR and BIIR trade names
Lanxess makes Lanxess butyl and the halobutyl elastomers Lanxess bromobutyl and Lanxess chlorobutyl. ExxonMobil Chemical Corp. makes Exxon butyl and the halobutyl rubbers Exxon bromobutyl and Exxon chlorobutyl. In Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Inc., makes and butyl and bromobutyl rubber and Togliatti Rubber produces butyl.
Custom rubber compounding
Preferred Compounding is a full service custom rubber compounder. As a Preferred customer/partner, you gain access to our comprehensive support resources.
Full service and support
Preferred’s technical services staff includes chemists with decades of
experience. They formulate and optimize custom elastomeric compounds to achieve
the desired field performance, manufacturability and cost for your compounds.
Through the custom compounding recipe, we can engineer the extent and rate of curing, processing characteristics, final properties, performance and cost.
10,000 compounding ingredients
We work with more than 10,000 compounding polymers and other ingredients and more than 100 rubber mixing and processing variables.
We produce compounded elastomers in strips, slabs, pellets and calendered sheet. We also provide filtering by gear-pump straining.
For more information
If you would like assistance determining the right formulation for your rubber application or on improving the performance and cost of your current recipe, contact Joe Hudson by or at 330.798.4960.
