Iran Polym J (2013) 22:697–707
DOI 10.1007/s13726-013-0168-9
ORIGINAL PAPER
The influence of non-carcinogenic petroleum-based process oils
on tire compounds’ performance
Shabnam Ezzoddin • Ali Abbasian •
Majid Aman-Alikhani • Saeed Taghvaei Ganjali
Received: 22 December 2012 / Accepted: 19 June 2013 / Published online: 3 July 2013
Ó Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute 2013
Abstract High aromatic oils which have been widely
used as process oils in tire the industry contain high con-
centrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
These aromatic compounds (PAHs) have proved to be
carcinogenic as well as posing a threat to the environment.
Since the beginning of 2010, the use of high aromatic
process oils has been banned under the EU regulation
1907/2007 commonly called REACH (registration, evalu-
ation, authorization and restriction of chemicals). The so-
called regulation has given rise to challenges to the oil and
tire industries in replacing high aromatic process oils with
safer alternatives. In the present work, four types of low
aromatic petroleum-based process oils, namely mild and
high-viscosity naphthenic oils (LNAP and HNAP), treated
distillate aromatic extract (TDAE) and mildly extracted
solvate (MES), were investigated and their effect on
plasticization and durability properties of two different low
and high oil-extended tire formulations were evaluated.
The compatibility of oils with rubber was investigated
as well. The results showed that a number of properties
such as abrasion resistance and tire rolling resistance
were improved by using non-carcinogenic oils, while
tire grip properties were declined. Considering oil–rubber
S. Ezzoddin
A. Abbasian (&)
Department of Polymer Engineering, Science and Research
Branch, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box: 14515/775,
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: abbasian.a@srbiau.ac.ir
M. Aman-Alikhani
Barez Industrial Group, P.O. Box: 15875-3711, Kerman, Iran
S. T. Ganjali
Department of Chemistry, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad
University, P.O. Box: 19585/936, Tehran, Iran
compatibility, TDAE and MES were found to be more
compatible with rubbers.
Keywords Low aromatic oil
Tire compound

Long-term properties
Compatibility
Introduction
Plasticizers (softeners) are organic substances added to
polymers to improve their flexibility and processability.
They increase elongation and low-temperature flexibility
and decrease the hardness, glass transition temperature, Tg
of polymers and compounds viscosity due to lowering of
intermolecular forces [1, 2].
High aromatic oils have been traditionally the most used
process oils for tire rubbers. Their popularity is explained
by their good balance of properties and lower price com-
pared to other types of process oils. These high aromatic
oils are often referred to as distillate aromatic extracts
(DAEs) [3].
In 1994, the Swedish National Chemical Inspectorate
(KEMI) published a report regarding the use of high aro-
matic extender oils in tire treads as hazardous to the health
and safety of the environment. These oils contain
high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds
(PCAs), many of which are identified as suspected car-
cinogens [4, 5].
Therefore, in accordance with the EU directive
1907/2007, commonly called REACH (registration, eval-
uation, authorization and restriction of chemicals), starting
from 2010, every new tire produced in the European Union
or imported there has to contain oils with low content of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to be classified
as non-carcinogenic.
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According to REACH legislation, the amount of PCAs formulations. The first formulation was a low oil-extended
measured by IP-346 method should be below 3 % by weight (6 Phr) tire ply formulation based on the NR/BR blend.
[4–6]. The second one was a high oil-extended (25 Phr) tire tread
Various commercial petroleum oils can meet the low formulation based on the SBR/BR blend.
PAH requirements. However, their properties are often Five different compounds were made for each formu-
different from those of the high aromatic oils. These oils lation, comparing how the properties of rubber compounds
include treated distillate aromatic extract (TDAE), mildly will change with the changes of process oil type.
extracted solvate (MES), residual aromatic extract (RAE), Although it is a known fact that to maintain all tire
treated residual aromatic extract (TRAE) and hydropro- characteristics, a 1:1 replacement of the high aromatic oil
cessed naphthenic oil (NAP) [6, 7]. with the new types is not feasible, the content of extender
Limited studies have been published to investigate the oils was kept the same in all compounds of each formu-
properties of rubber compounds containing low aromatic lation and no adjustment was made to the other compo-
petroleum oils. Kuta et al. [4] investigated the dynamic nents to balance the exchange of oil.
mechanical properties of tire compounds based on NR/ The studied formulations including the suppliers of raw
SBR, NR/BR and SBR/BR blends containing several low materials are presented in Tables 1, 2. Process oils studied
aromatic oils including RAE, TDAE, MES and NAP. in this work are presented in Table 3. The properties of the
Rangstedt [5] evaluated the effects of TDAE and high- studied process oils are presented in Table 4.
viscosity naphthenic oil (HNAP) on tire compounds’
properties based on emulsion SBR (ESBR) and carbon Mixing procedure
black. Another study carried out by Joona [8] was related to
investigating the effect of replacing several grades of A two-pass mixing procedure was followed to make the
naphthenic oils on the properties of tire compounds based compounds. The first stage was carried out in a laboratory
on solution SBR (SSBR) and silica. Null [9] investigated internal mixer (2 kg capacity, Well Shying, Taiwan).
the effects of TDAE, MES and NAP on the physical, Conventional mixing cycle was used for both formulations
mechanical and dynamic properties of tire tread com- which took 10 min, overall.
pounds based on ESBR/NR/BR blend (50/25/25) and car- For low oil-extended NR/BR-based compounds, first
bon black-type filler. The same study was also carried out elastomers, the whole amount of filler and additives, were
on tire tread compounds based on SSBR/BR blend (70/30) mixed for 5 min and then the process oil was added to the
and silica-type filler [9]. In another study, Null [10] eval- mixture and mixed for another 5 min.
uated the physical, mechanical and dynamic properties of For high oil-extended SBR/BR-based compounds,
tire tread compounds based on ESBR by replacing DAE however, the filler part was halved. One-half of it was
with three grades of MES, one grade of TDAE and naph- mixed with elastomers and additives, and then the other
thenic oil. half was added to the mixture with the process oil.
While previous studies had mostly taken short-term Master batches were conditioned for 24 h at room
properties of rubber compounds into consideration, this temperature and then mixed on a laboratory two-roll mill
research significantly aimed to evaluate the effects of (Well Shying, Taiwan). The final compounds were
replacing DAE oil by its low aromatic alternatives on
durability of the compounds as well as final tire perfor-
mance. Moreover, the compatibility of process oils with
Table 1 Low oil-extended NR/BR-based tire ply formulation
elastomers was evaluated in this work, which had not been
considered in the past. The relationship between oil–rubber Ingredient Commercial name Supplier Phr
compatibility and rubber compounds’ properties was
NR SMR 20 Marub, Malaysia 80
investigated as well.
(Co/Ti) BR BR 1220 Arak, Iran 20
CB- N660 N660 Carbon Iran 45
Process oil * * 6
Experimental
Stearic acid Palmac Malaysia 6
6PPD Kumanox Kumho, South Korea 2
Materials
TMQ TMO Rong Cheng, China 1
Zinc oxide ZnO Rooygostar Jam, Iran 5
To study how replacing high aromatic oils with low aro-
CBS Vulkacit CZ/EG Lanxess, Belgium 1
matic ones would affect physical, mechanical and dynamic
Sulfur Midas 101 South Korea 2.8
properties of tire rubber compounds, different petroleum
alternatives were investigated on two different tire rubber * The process oils studied in this work are presented in Table 3

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Table 2 High oil-extended SBR/BR-based tire tread formulation Table 4 Properties of the studied process oils
Ingredient Commercial name Supplier Phr Process oil DAE LNAP HNAP TDAE MES

ESBR Polyran 1500 Bandar Imam, Iran 80 Color Dark Yellow Dark Dark Dark
(Co/Ti) BR BR 1220 Arak, Iran 20 brown brown brown brown
CB- N339 N339 Carbon Iran 75 Density 0.95 0.94 0.94 0.942 0.915
(g/cm3)
Process oil * * 25
Viscosity 750 450 700 410 225
Stearic acid Palmac Malaysia 1
(mm2/s)
6PPD Kumanox Kumho, South Korea 2
Flash point 240 222 220 271 280
TMQ TMO Rong Cheng, China 1 (°C)
Antiozonant wax Micro Wax Rose Polymer, Iran 1.5 Aniline point 66 82 90 69 97
Zinc oxide ZnO Rooygostar Jam, Iran 5 (°C)
CBS Vulkacit CZ/EG Lanxess, Belgium 1.5 VGC 0.895 0.872 0.866 0.887 0.844
Sulfur Midas 101 South Korea 1.6 PAH (%) [3 \3 \3 2.6 1.3

* The process oils studied in this work are presented in Table 3

Mooney viscometry
investigated by several physical, mechanical and dynamic
Based on ISO 289, values of Mooney viscosity for com-
rubber tests after 24 h of conditioning at room temperature.
pounds of both formulations were measured by a Mooney
viscometer (Hiwa, Iran).
Tests
Hardness
To evaluate the effect of non-carcinogenic process oils on
tire rubber compounds, a myriad of tests were carried out.
Test method ISO 7619 was used to measure the hardness
The tests were classified as follows:
values of rubber compounds of both formulations by a
durometer Shore A (Bareiss, Germany).
Plasticization effect
Oil–rubber compatibility
These tests were carried out to evaluate the plasticization
effect of process oils on rubber compounds as mentioned
To investigate oil–rubber compatibility, a procedure was
below:
designed in which oil bleeding of high oil-extended com-
pounds was evaluated by measuring the weight loss per-
Viscosity during vulcanization
centage of compounds under 120 h thermal aging. The
following temperature values were selected for this test:
The curing behavior of compounds made from both for-
25 °C: according to room temperature
mulations was evaluated by a moving die rheometer
120 °C: similar to thermal aging test method (ISO 188)
(MDR-900, Hiwa Iran) mostly with the aim of evaluating
140 °C: maximum temperature that the tire may
the changes in compound viscosity during vulcanization.
encounter at service [11]
The tests were done based on ISO 6502.
180 °C: at accelerated condition (arbitrarily chosen)

Table 3 Description of the process oils used Durability properties

Process Commercial Supplier Description
Oil Name To investigate the effect of low aromatic process oil on
DAE Behran Tire Behran Oil, Used as reference
durability properties of rubber compounds, the following
250 Iran tests were done:
LNAP Nytex 8450 Nynas AB, Mild-viscosity
Sweden naphthenic oil Tensile properties
HNAP Nytex 4700 Nynas AB, High-viscosity
Sweden naphthenic oil The tensile properties of rubber compounds made from both
TDAE Vivatec 500 H&R, Treated distillate formulations were measured by a universal tensile tester
Germany aromatic extract
(Testometric, UK). Measured properties included tensile
MES Vivatec 200 H&R, Mildly extracted solvate strength, elongation-at-break and modulus at 100 and 300 %
Germany
tensile strength. Tests were done based on ISO 37.

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Thermal aging
To investigate the durability of compounds in different
thermal conditions, the variations in tensile properties after
thermal aging of 168 h and 120 °C (based on ISO 188)
were examined using an oven (Gotech, Taiwan).
Fatigue
Based on ISO 6943, dumbbell-shaped samples of both low
and high oil-extended formulations were subjected to
fatigue test using a fatigue tester (Hiwa, Iran) to investigate
the durability of compounds in dynamic applications, i.e.,
tire in service.
Abrasion resistance
Relative volume loss of rubber compounds made from high
oil-extended tread formulation was measured by an abra-
sion tester made by Bareiss, Germany to evaluate com-
pounds’ abrasion resistance. Tests were done using pill-
shaped samples based on ISO 4649.
Tire grip and rolling resistance
Loss properties
To evaluate tire grip and rolling resistance, loss properties
(tan d) of high oil-extended compounds were measured by
a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA) (Tritec
2000, UK) under bending mode deformation with 1 Hz
frequency and 1 % strain at temperature sweep of -120 to
100 °C. Tests were carried out based on test method ISO
6721.
Resilience
Resilience values of high oil-extended compounds were
measured by a resilience tester (Hiwa, Iran) at 25 °C. Tests
were carried out based on ISO 4662. These tests were
performed to estimate the grip of the final tire.
Results and discussion
Plasticization effect and oil–rubber compatibility
Viscosity during vulcanization
The curing behavior of high and low oil-extended com-
pounds is shown in Tables 5, 6, respectively. Apart from
the slight effect of low aromatic alternatives on the curing
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behavior of rubber compounds, the values of minimum and
maximum torque (ML and MH) were mostly taken into
consideration as indicators of uncured and vulcanized
compounds viscosity in low shears, respectively [12]. As
shown in Tables 5 and 6, minimum torque (ML) values of
compounds containing TDAE and MES are lower than
other compounds in both formulations that indicate lower
viscosity of uncured TDAE and MES-extended compounds
in low shears.
These results show that TDAE and MES appear to have
more plasticization effects on rubber compounds. In addi-
tion, lower values of MH obtained for TDAE and MES-
extended compounds, especially in high oil formulation,
show that vulcanization does not affect the plasticization
effect of the previously mentioned oils significantly.
Mooney viscosity
The values of Mooney viscosity for high and low oil-
extended formulations are shown in Figs. 1, 2, respec-
tively. It is illustrated that TDAE and MES significantly
decrease the Mooney viscosity of compounds in both for-
mulations, which is due to higher plasticization effects of
the mentioned oils resulting in lower values of Mooney
viscosity (bulk plasticization) of compounds. A decrease in
the values of Mooney viscosity of compounds containing
TDAE and particularly MES oils has been reported in
previous studies, as well [7, 9, 10].
Hardness
The results of hardness for tread (high oil-extended) and ply
(low oil-extended) compounds are presented in Figs. 3, 4,
respectively. The hardness values of high oil-extended com-
pounds are impacted by the oil type. The lowest values of
hardness are related to the compounds containing TDAE and
MES. This result is proportional to lower values of Mooney
viscosity and ML as well. Therefore, it seems that plasticiza-
tion effects of TDAE and MES result in compounds’ surface
plasticization as well as bulk plasticization. The values of
hardness for low oil-extended compounds, however, are not
significantly affected by replacing low aromatic oils because
of relatively low concentration of oil in the ply formulation.
Oil–rubber compatibility
Figure 5 illustrates the results of oil bleeding for high oil-
extended compounds after different conditions of thermal
aging. The more the compatibility between oil and rubber,
the less is the oil bleeding. Thus, considering the results of
Fig. 5, it seems that MES and TDAE show the most
compatibility with rubber and the poorest results are related
to LNAP.
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Table 5 Curing behavior of high oil-extended SBR/BR-based

compounds
Compound ML MH MH - ML T90 TS2 CRI*
(dN m) (dN m) (dN m) (min: s) (min: s)

DAE 1.655 8.001 6.346 15:07 7:32 13.197

LNAP 1.793 8.691 6.897 16:03 7:47 12.098
HNAP 1.793 8.139 6.346 15:59 8:44 13.795
TDAE 1.517 7.725 6.208 12:36 7:46 20.652
MES 1.517 8.277 6.759 15:24 7:53 13.305

* Cure rate index (CRI) = T90/TS2

Fig. 2 Results of Mooney viscosity for low oil-extended NR/BR

Table 6 Curing behavior of low oil-extended NR/BR-based compounds
compounds
Compound ML MH MH - ML T90 TS2 CRI* of oil, the more is it compatible with rubber. Therefore, it
(dN m) (dN m) (dN m) (min: s) (min: s) should be noted that to compare the precise effect of oil
DAE 2.207 11.45 9.242 10:11 3:57 16.055 type on Mooney viscosity values of rubber compounds as
LNAP 3.587 14.898 11.312 8:18 3:31 20.886 well as their hardness, it is necessary to select oils with
HNAP 2.207 11.864 9.656 10:13 4:06 16.343 almost similar viscosity values. Otherwise, the impact of
TDAE 1.931 10.760 8.829 9:42 4:04 17.770 oil viscosity values cannot be ignored. This matter indi-
MES 1.793 9.794 8.001 10:09 4:07 16.613 cates that selecting the process oil type is of great impor-
tance. It means that high aromatic oil replacement should
* Cure rate index (CRI) = T90/TS2
be done by alternatives, which have viscosity values close
To confirm the obtained results, the same investigation to those of DAE oil.
was carried out in two temperature values (25 and 180 °C) Therefore, it is notable that the higher plasticization
for low oil-extended compounds. The results are presented properties of TDAE and MES are impacted by their lower
in Fig. 6, which confirm the results of oil compatibility for viscosity values as well.
high oil-extended samples.
Durability properties
Compatibility and plasticization capacity of oils
Tensile properties
Tables 7 and 8 highlight the plasticization effect of process
oils on high and low oil-extended compounds and the The results of tensile properties including tensile strength,
relationship between compatibility and plasticization elongation-at-break and tensile moduli for compounds of
capacity of oils. As shown, the compatibility of oils is both formulations are shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
directly related to their plasticization effect on rubber We can see from Fig. 7 that the values of tensile
compounds, in which the more the plasticization capacity strength for high oil-extended compounds containing

Fig. 1 Results of Mooney viscosity for high oil-extended SBR/BR

compounds Fig. 3 Results of hardness for high oil-extended SBR/BR compounds

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Table 7 Plasticization effect of oils on high oil-extended SBR/BR-

based compounds
Sample Property
DAE LNAP HNAP TDAE MES

Oil viscosity (mm2/s) 750 450 700 410 225

ML (dN m) 1.655 1.793 1.793 1.517 1.517
MH (dN m) 8.001 8.691 8.139 7.725 8.277
Mooney viscosity (MU) 134 135 139 46.98 45.24
Hardness (shore A) 59 56 55 54 53
*
Compatibility (3) (5) (4) (2) (1)
Fig. 4 Results of hardness for low oil-extended NR/BR compounds * The lower the number, the less is the oil bleeding and thus the more
compatible is the oil with rubber

Table 8 Plasticization effect of oils on low oil-extended NR/BR-

based compounds
Sample Property
DAE LNAP HNAP TDAE MES

Oil viscosity (mm2/s) 750 450 700 410 225

ML (dN m) 2.207 3.587 2.207 1.931 1.793
MH (dN m) 11.45 14.898 11.864 10.760 9.794
Mooney viscosity (MU) 147 77.3 147 57.04 53.46
Hardness (Shore A) 55 55 58 54 54
*
Fig. 5 Oil bleeding of high oil-extended SBR/BR compounds Compatibility (3) (5) (4) (2) (1)
* The lower the number, the less is the oil bleeding and thus the more
TDAE and MES are lower compared to other compounds,
compatible is the oil with rubber
which may be considered as due to the higher plasticization
effect of the mentioned oils, if the effect of plasticizers on
decreasing tensile strength is taken into consideration [13]. containing LNAP. Compounds containing TDAE and MES
Low oil-extended compounds (Fig. 8) result in highest did not give poor results in this regard.
values of tensile strength for the compound containing It is illustrated in Fig. 11 that high oil-extended com-
HNAP. pounds contain MES and LNAP, have the highest tensile
On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the moduli compared to other compounds of the same formu-
lowest values of elongation for both low and high oil- lation. Lowest tensile moduli for low oil-extended com-
extended compounds are related to the compounds pounds (Fig. 12) are related to those containing TDAE and
MES. This result was predictable from the values of delta
torque (MH - ML) obtained from curing behavior results.
It is stated that the higher the values of delta torque, the
more is the cross-linking that occurs in the rubber com-
pound, which renders higher values of modulus for the
compounds [12].

Thermal aging

The results of variations in tensile properties of both for-

Fig. 6 Oil bleeding of low oil-extended NR/BR compounds
mulations are presented in Figs. 13, 14, 15 and 16. It can be
seen that compounds containing TDAE and MES in both
formulations show more variations in tensile properties
(tensile strength and elongation at break) after thermal
aging, which may result in poorer static long-term prop-
erties of such compounds. Although more data are needed

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Fig. 7 Results of tensile strength for high oil-extended SBR/BR Fig. 9 Results of elongation at break for high oil-extended SBR/BR
compounds compounds

Fig. 10 Results of elongation at break for low oil-extended NR/BR

compounds
Fig. 8 Results of tensile strength for low oil-extended NR/BR
compounds

to prove this claim, most researchers accept such non-

correspondence. However, thermal aging conditions were
chosen very strictly to investigate the ultimate static
durability of compounds and it should be noted that
dynamic long-term properties are of more importance for
tires in service.

Fatigue life

Figures 17 and 18 show the fatigue life of high and low oil-
extended compounds, respectively. The results of both
formulations confirm the great dynamic characteristics of
TDAE- and MES-extended compounds. Thus, it seems that
TDAE and MES give very good dynamic durability
properties. In reverse, HNAP appears not to give suitable
durability, especially in dynamic applications.
Abrasion resistance
The results of the abrasion test for high oil-extended com-
pounds are shown in Fig. 19. It is obvious that replacing DAE
oil by safe alternatives improves abrasion resistance.
Fig. 11 Results of tensile modulus at 100 and 300 % tensile strength
for high oil-extended SBR/BR compounds
Among alternative oils investigated in this study, TDAE
and MES give the highest abrasion resistance to compounds.
Higher abrasion resistance of TDAE- and MES-extended
compounds could be predicted by better compatibility of
TDAE and MES with rubber (Figs. 5, 6) as well.
It is worth mentioning that improving compounds’
abrasion resistance is an advantage of replacing DAE oil by
low aromatic eco-friendly alternatives [7, 9, 10].

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Fig. 14 Variations in tensile strength after thermal aging for low oil-
extended NR/BR compounds

Fig. 12 Results of tensile modulus at 100 and 300 % tensile strength

for low oil-extended NR/BR compounds

Tire grip and rolling resistance

Loss properties

One of the graphs of DMTA analysis on different com-

pounds under temperature sweep is presented in Fig. 20.
As other researchers also mentioned, tan d values at -10, 0
and 25 °C indicate ice, wet and dry grip, respectively. The
higher the value of tan d, the better is the grip and therefore Fig. 15 Elongation variations after thermal aging for high oil-
the safer is the moving tire on the road [8, 14, 15]. extended SBR/BR compounds
Tan d at high temperature (60 or 70 °C) indicates tread
compounds’ rolling resistance. The lower the value of tan d
at high temperature, the higher is the rolling resistance and
therefore the tire fuel consumption is lower [4, 16, 17]. The
results of tan d, obtained from DMTA temperature sweep
tests, for high oil-extended tread compounds are shown in
Fig. 21.
As shown in Fig. 21, grip decreases by replacing DAE
oil with low aromatic alternatives. It is an important weak
point of replacing DAE oil with safer alternatives which
has been reported in previous studies as well [1, 9, 10]. The
results of Fig. 21 show that the lowest values of tan d (the
Fig. 16 Elongation variations after thermal aging for low oil-
extended NR/BR compounds

worst grip) were related to compounds containing TDAE

and, in reverse, HNAP gave the best grip. As shown in
Fig. 21, rolling resistance was improved by replacing DAE
oil [1, 9, 10]. Among safe process oils, the highest rolling
resistance value was related to TDAE oil containing
compounds.

Resilience

The results of resilience test for high oil-extended com-

Fig. 13 Variations in tensile strength after thermal aging for high oil- pounds are presented in Fig. 22. The results showed that
extended SBR/BR compounds the values of resilience in compounds containing TDAE

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Effects of different non-carcinogenic oils on final tire

properties

The roles that non-carcinogenic oils play in final tire

properties of both tread and ply formulations are summa-
rized in Tables 9 and 10. We can see from Table 9 that
TDAE and MES give better durability to the tread com-
pounds, which is mostly obtained by fatigue life and
abrasion resistance tests that are related to dynamic
applications of tire. Although static durability properties of

Fig. 17 Fatigue life test for high oil-extended SBR/BR compounds

Fig. 20 A typical graph of DMTA analysis, temperature sweep

Fig. 18 Fatigue life test for low oil-extended NR/BR compounds

Fig. 19 Results of abrasion loss (relative volume loss) for high oil- Fig. 21 Loss properties of high oil-extended SBR/BR compounds at
extended SBR/BR compounds -10, 0, 25 and 70 °C—obtained from DMTA and temperature sweep

and MES were lower than those of naphthenic-extended

contained compounds. It is theoretically accepted that
the lower the resilience, the better is the grip of the tire
[18].
This claim can be confirmed by the results of grip for
MES-extended contained compound, in which the men-
tioned oil appears not to act very poorly in the case of
grip properties, although the reverse opinion is claimed
in several studies in this regard [9, 10]. However, it
should be kept in mind that laboratory experiments
would not confirm the final products’ performance pre-
cisely and it is necessary to consider the practical tire Fig. 22 Results of resilience test for high oil-extended SBR/BR
tests as well. compounds

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Table 9 Effect of non-carcinogenic oils on high oil-extended SBR/BR-based tread compounds’ properties
Alternative oil LNAP HNAP TDAE MES
Fatigue life
Tensile properties
Final Tire Properties

Durability
Abrasion resistance
Ageing properties
Resilience
Grip
Loss properties at low temperature
Rolling Resistance Loss properties at high temperature
Compatibility Oil bleeding
Great Medium Poor

Table 10 Effect of non-carcinogenic oils on low oil-extended NR/BR-based ply compounds’ properties

Alternative oil LNAP HNAP TDAE MES

Final Tire Properties

Fatigue life

Durability Tensile properties

Ageing properties

Compatibility Oil bleeding

Great Medium Poor

compounds containing TDAE and MES oils are not as well
as dynamic ones, they are not so poor as to affect the usage
of the mentioned oils. It seems that naphthenic oils act
better in static durability applications.
It is worth mentioning that apart from the relatively poor
performance of MES oil on rolling resistance compared to
other non-carcinogenic oils, tread compounds containing
TDAE and MES still benefit from better grip and rolling
resistance properties as a whole. From the oil–rubber com-
patibility point of view, TDAE and MES stand out, as well.
Table 10 shows the effect of non-carcinogenic oils on
final tire ply properties. It can be seen that alternative oils
play almost the same role in the properties of both tread
and ply formulations, in which TDAE and MES give better
durability properties to the ply compounds as well as being
more compatible with rubbers.
BR blends, respectively. Two grades of naphthenic oils
(LNAP and HNAP) as well as TDAE and MES have been
studied. The results show that while all low PCA-content
oils improved the abrasion resistance, among them TDAE
and MES stand out. On the other hand, loss properties at
low temperature, which indicate grip, showed a decline in
all non-carcinogenic-extended compounds. Rolling resis-
tance was improved by replacing DAE oil and the best
value in this regard was related to TDAE. In addition,
TDAE and MES were found to be more compatible with
rubbers of both formulations. However, as the use of PCA-
rich process oils have been banned, tire manufacturers have
no option but to replace those kinds of process oils with
low PCA-content alternatives. Therefore, it is necessary to
optimize the formulations to attain suitable properties in
compounds containing non-carcinogenic process oils.

Conclusion
References
The recent worldwide attempts in restriction of PCA-rich
extender oils (started in 2010 in the European Union) lead
to the evaluation of the effect of non-carcinogenic process
oils on tire compounds properties. The present study has
focused on the influence of replacing DAE oil by low PCA-
content alternatives on two different low and high oil-
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