With over 70 million letters being delivered to more than 40 million households every day, the letter centers of Deutsche Post have their work cut out to ensure fast and reliable transportation on their  sorting lines. Each hour, between 30,000 and 60,000 envelopes pass through special scanners and on for further distribution – at a speed of around four meters per second.

It’s rare for letters to be lost, and that’s because machine conveyors coated with the extremely abrasion-resistant NBR rubber Krynac® X from LANXESS ensure reliable sorting – the hydrophilic surface exhibits excellent separation and carrying properties. The functional rubber surface designed specifically for letter transportation also protects sensitive surfaces and can withstand the extremely dynamic loads at the deflection rollers.

LANXESS produces the rubber Krynac® X 740 for conveyor belt manufacturer Forbo Siegling GmbH specifically for this area of application. This rubber is produced using an emulsion process and is a terpolymer made from acrylonitrile, butadiene and an unsaturated carboxylic acid, which
creates the hydrophilic properties of its surface.

By way of contrast, the food industry requires conveyor belts that are primarily resistant to hot water and grease; when transporting stones and bricks, the material must offer good tear resistance; and in industrial environments the material must be highly robust against oils and lubricants.