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History of Kuraray's Development of Isoprene and Related Products. |
| KURARAY CO., LTD. offers a wide range of isoprene related
products originating in isoprene monomer production. Thermoplastic elastomers,
pharmaceutical intermediates, aroma chemicals, and other products are key
components in this important family of products. |
| One of Kuraray's development targets has been to find substitutes
of natural resources such as fiber and leather. Poly-vinyl alcohol fiber
and man-made leather CLARINO™, were launched as the first attempt in
the world in this area of development. |
| Kuraray’s Kashima plant in Japan commenced in 1972 to produce
poly-isoprene rubber by adapting a two-step process to obtain isoprene monomer
from C4 raffinate. Subsequently, isoprene related derivatives allowed Kuraray
to become one of the first integrated manufacturers in isoprene complex of
products. In 1987, production of isoprene monomer was technically advanced
by the development of a unique one-step process. |
| The various isoprene related products developed by Kuraray
can be visually displayed as a branching Isoprene Tree as new and more products
are created. |
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The Elastomer Division |
| The thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) business and markets have
increased substantially, primarily due to the development of SEPTON™
line of products. SEPTON™ was originally launched as SEPS, type TPE,
offering excellent weatherability and heat resistance. These important characteristics
were made possible by Kuraray’s proprietary hydrogenation technology. Kuraray
continuously developed SEP, SEEPS, SEBS and its functionalized type to become
a full line-up supplier of thermoplastic elastomer. |
| Kuraray's unique technologies have also made possible the development of HYBRAR™. This product exhibits unique and enhanced damping properties suitable for automobile and various other TPE applications. Another successful development with HYBRAR™ includes a non-plasticized recyclable compound that has similar properties to flexible PVC and its applications. |
| The yearly world market for HSBC (Hydrogenated Styrenic Block Copolymer) is estimated by Kuraray Co., LTD at approximately 100,000 tons and expanding at rate of about 10% per year. North American and European markets constitute the largest share but recent growth is seen in China and other Asian markets. |
| To meet the increasing demand for these products, Kuraray
has expanded production capability to keep pace. From first capacity of 1,000
tons per year in 1972, capacity is now 19,000 tons in Japan and 12,000 tons
in USA by startup of SEPTON Company of America in 2002. Future goals place
production at 50,000 tons/year. |
| Kuraray's focus is not just production but enhanced quality
of products and expanded utilization in higher performance and technical
demands by customers. Supporting customers in the use of SEPTON™ and
HYBRAR™ products is the R&D group of researchers and technicians, now
housed in the new Kuraray Research and Technical Center opened in Apr. 2004,
at Pasadena, Texas. Kuraray has made a substantial investment in the future
growth of the elastomer business and strives to introduce and manufacture
new and innovative high performance products for customers around the globe. |
| Our elastomer business keeps glowing with thermoplastic polyurethane, which joined us in 2001. We are to introduce and supply innovative and high-performance elastomers to customers continuously and globally. |
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Brochures of elastomer business are available as pdf-files; |
 Elastomer Products Information
(350KB)
Liquid Isoprene
Rubber LIR™
(2.4MB)
Water Soluble
Polymer ISOBAM™
(783KB)
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