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Nitrile elastomers are a group of polymers that are obtained by the reaction of acrylonitrile and butadiene. There are three major forms of nitrile elastomers.
- Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR rubber)
- Nitrile butadiene latex (NBR latex)
- Hydrogenated NBR (HNBR)
Nitrile rubber has the distinctive feature of high resistance to oils (aliphatic hydrocarbons) over a wide temperature range. NBR is also noted for high strength and excellent resistance to abrasion, water, alcohols and heat. Disadvantages include poor dielectric properties and poor resistance to ozone and strong oxidants. Compounding with antiozonants (e.g., p-phenylenediamine and a suitable wax), antioxidants (e.g., polymeric amine, phenolic or organic phosphite) or PVC ameliorates the latter disadvantage.
The global market for nitrile elastomers is moving to Asia. In North America and Europe, market growth is lower than growth in GDP, or markets are declining as in the United States. Nitrile elastomer demand in Asia expanded, depending on the type of product and country, in part more than 10% per year between 2004 and 2007.
The following pie chart shows world consumption of nitrile elastomers:
The most dramatic growth has been seen for consumption of nitrile latex in Malaysia and other East Asian countries. During the last few years Malaysia has developed to become the global center of the latex dipping/glove manufacturing industry. Malaysia is now the world’s largest producer of natural rubber and nitrile (synthetic rubber) gloves, with a global market share of about 60%. The largest consumer of solid NBR rubber is now China. The market for hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is still concentrated in the most industrialized counties of North America, Europe and Japan.
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