Synthesis of palm oil-base zinc stearate and its application on manufacture of rubber component

Abstract

Palm oil-based zinc stearate synthesis process has been developed. Palm oil-based stearic acid and zinc oxide were used as material. The synthesis was performed using an oil-jacketed reactor with a capacity of 50 kg per batch. The reaction was occurring at 950C with atmospheric pressure and it took place about 10 minutes. The product characteristics was powder with a white appearance, 0.0 - 0.3 % fatty acid content, 0.2 - 1% moisture content, 118 – 1250C melting point and 0.5 - 1.1 g/cm3 specific gravity. The product of zinc stearate was also examined on an application of rubber component production process. Effects of using the zinc stearate to characteristics of the rubber component were tested. The characteristics included elongation, hardness and tensile strength of the rubber component. Application of 5 phr of zinc stearate on rubber component formulation showed that the rubber component processed using the zinc stearate has basic characteristic that meet the standard of rubber component of American Chemical Society (ACS) 1.