The LANXESS product portfolio for tire manufacturers worldwide includes versatile polybutadiene and very high-performance styrene butadiene rubbers (SBR) that are produced using state-of-the-art solution polymerization processing (SSBR = “solution SBR”). The product portfolio of the Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit also includes the “general purpose” rubber ESBR (“emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber”).

For decades, ESBR has been a classic tire rubber and one of the most widespread of all the polymers. LANXESS manufactures this elastomer using a particularly cost-effective process that has been optimized over the course of many decades. Polybutadiene grades from LANXESS are created in neodymium-, cobalt- and lithium-catalyzed processes. These grades too are used primarily in the manufacture of tires. Performance can be increased considerably due to a number of highly refined properties demonstrated by these rubbers. For example, neodymium polybutadiene rubbers from LANXESS have a higher elasticity than many other tire rubbers and also reduce tire abrasion, thus playing a significant role in making cars safer and more economical. The same is true of the cutting-edge SSBR rubbers from LANXESS used in the tread mix for high-performance tires. They reduce rolling resistance while also improving grip on wet roads.

The LANXESS Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit is a globally important manufacturer of butadiene rubber grades.