INTERNATIONAL
U.S.S.R. focuses on synthetic rubber Natural rubber to be phased out because it comes completely from non-Communist sources Because the Soviet Union relies com pletely on sources of natural rubber located outside Communist coun tries, the general trend in the U.S.S.R. during the next several years will be to replace natural rubber with syn thetic rubber in tires and rubber goods. Thus, Soviet rubber scientists are focusing most of their research on tires made completely of synthetic rubber, particularly ethylene-propyl ene elastomers, and on development of polybutadiene and polyisoprene rubbers, Soviet spokesmen disclosed last month at the International Rub ber Conference in Moscow. The U.S.S.R. and all the East bloc countries buy their natural rubber al most exclusively from Malaysia through British trading companies. Last year, Malaysia shipped 300,000 metric tons, about 30%, of its natural rubber output to the U.S.S.R. Matsia currently supplies about 45% of the world's natural rubber. "In some ways, the natural rubber market has been kept alive during the last years by Soviet and Chinese buy ing," comments Stephen T. Semegen, president of the Natural Rubber Bu reau of the Malayan Rubber Fund Board in Hudson, Ohio. Last year Red China bought about 210,000 met ric tons of natural rubber and will get about 240,000 metric tons this year. In 1968, East bloc countries, includ ing the U.S.S.R., imported about 600,000 metric tons of natural rubber. This year they will import about 525,000 metric tons, of which the Soviets will get about 250,000 metric tons, representing about 10% of world natural rubber consumption in 1969. Synthetics. In 1968 Soviet syn thetic rubber consumption reached about 800,000 metric tons, or about 187c of total world synthetic rubber consumption. It is expected to reach about 1 million metric tons this year, and about twice more in 1975, Valer ian M. Sobolev, deputy minister of the Soviet petroleum refining and petro chemical industry, tells C&EN in Mos cow. Of last year's total synthetic rubber consumption, styrene-butadiene rub ber accounted for about 550,000 met ric tons, polyisoprene rubber about 70,000 metric tons, neoprene rubber 60,000 metric tons, polybutadiene rub 34 C&EN DEC. 15, 1969
ber about 40,000 metric tons, and eth ylene-propylene rubber, butyl rubber, and nitrile rubber about 30,000 metric tons each, according to Soviet statis tics. In the future, the U.S.S.R. plans to put a special emphasis on the develop ment of polybutadiene and poly isoprene rubbers, according to Mr. Sobolev. As part of the Soviet Third Plan (1970-74), polyisoprene rubber production will be at least doubled, while polybutadiene rubber output will reach about 120,000 metric tons at the end of the Third Plan. Also, research will be specially aimed at stereoregular butadiene rubber, Mr. Sobolev adds. Tires. Because more than 80% of the total rubber consumed in the U.S.S.R. goes to tire manufacturing, special emphasis will be given to the Soviet tire industry in the Third Plan. The U.S.S.R.'s tire production amounted to 27.7 million units in 1967, climbed to 32 million units last year, and is expected to reach about 36 million units this year, according to Soviet spokesmen. The Soviet Third Plan calls for pro duction of 60 million tires by the end of 1974. The tire boom will be linked to development of private cars, still a luxury for most of the Soviet people. All processes used in the U.S.S.R. for making synthetic rubber and tires were developed in the Soviet Union, and since 1965 all equipment used in tire manufacturing is Soviet, too, ac cording to Mr. Sobolev. Furthermore, a Soviet process for making isoprene monomer is about to be sold to Japan and Great Britain. The Soviet Union is currently building tire plants in Lebanon and in an undisclosed country of the United Arab Republics, he adds. Trade. As far as trading rubber materials is concerned, the U.S.S.R. Deputy minister Sobolev Special emphasis on development
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trades almost exclusively with Eastbloc partners. A special organization, the Council for Mutual Economic As sistance (CMEA), is in charge of co ordinating the industrial development of East European Communist coun tries. CMEA includes representatives from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hun gary, East Germany, Mongolia, Po land, Romania, and the U.S.S.R. In 1958 a special commission was created within CMEA to foster the develop ment of synthetic rubber in East-bloc countries and to coordinate CMEA members* research in synthetic rubber. When the CMEA commission was created in 1958, synthetic rubber was available only in the U.S.S.R. and East Germany. Now all CMEA countries operate styrene-butadiene facilities. The commission plans to put a special emphasis on isoprene rubber produc tion, calling for construction of about 10 isoprene rubber plants in CMEA member countries during the next six years. In addition, a large ethylenepropylene rubber plant will be built in East Germany during the next five years. As a result of such expansion programs, total production of tires and rubber articles in CMEA countries is expected to be five times larger by 1975 than production in 1965. The share of the tire and rubber in dustry in the total chemical output of such countries as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia will reach about 18% in 1975, compared to about 15% in 1965. Much of the research in CMEA countries will focus on reducing the amount of natural rubber in tires and other goods, a CMEA spokesman says. While present consumption of natural rubber in CMEA countries represents about 35% of total world consump tion of natural rubber, it is expected to represent no more than 10 to 15% of the same total in 1975.
