Lucas Dos Santos

Lucas obtained his PhD in polymer science from the University of Akron in 2009, with a thesis on 'Synthesis of Arborescent Model Polymer Structures by Living Carbocationic Polymerization for Structure-Property Studies'. After graduation, he joined Goodyear Tire & Rubber, where his major responsibilities involved new polymer developments by anionic polymerization. In 2015 he joined the PPG Silicas group to lead the development of new silicas for tire and industrial rubber applications. His recent work has focused on improving filler dispersion and polymer-filler interaction while minimizing energy consumption.

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Presentation

Energy savings of treated silicas

More stringent performance demands are leading to an increase in the use of highly dispersible silica in tire compounds. However, conventional silica technology has a variety of production limitations, with long mixing times at high temperatures required. Agilon Performance Silicas are treated precipitated silicas that overcome the manufacturing limitations associated with conventional HDS/in situ silane technology. These treated silicas do not require a silanization step and provide significant energy savings. This paper discusses how mixing conditions can be adjusted to optimize compound performance while minimizing energy consumption.