NXT* Silanes from GE Help Drive Lower Ethanol Emissions and Processing

NXT* Silanes from GE Help Drive Lower Ethanol Emissions and Processing Costs for Silica Tire Tread Compounds

    Business Editors/Automotive Writers

    KOLN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2005--Tire manufacturers have been looking for an easy, efficient, lower cost way to produce tire tread compounds filled with silica instead of carbon black. Now they can look to GE's new NXT LowV* silane and NXT Ultra-LowV* silane coupling agents. These new products can help decrease ethanol emissions up to 90 percent, compared to polysulfide silanes. This new generation of silanes provides the same easy, one-step mixing that helps shorten processing time and lowers cost as provided by NXT silane, introduced by GE in 2003.
    Tire tread compounds filled with silica help reduce automobile fuel consumption by up to five percent and improve traction and handling, but silica tire tread has been difficult to manufacture. The use of traditional polysulfide silanes as the chemical coupling agents (for coupling silica to rubber) in silica tread compounds complicates and prolongs mixing, and generates ethanol throughout the production and life of the tire. The end result is higher cost for processing and for abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). GE's new NXT LowV silane and NXT Ultra-LowV silane coupling agents help give tire manufacturers the ability to produce a better tire.
    Silica is not miscible in rubber, making its dispersion more difficult than carbon black. To keep the silica stationary within the compound, it must be chemically coupled to the rubber. Traditionally, polysulfide silanes have been used as coupling agents. But with their narrow processing window and sensitivity to high heat, which can cause premature vulcanization during mixing, these traditional polysulfide silanes must be carefully mixed and cooled in a multi-step process at lower temperatures. As a result, mixing accounts for about 10 percent of the cost of silica tires, making them more costly than tires compounded with carbon black.
    Ethanol emissions are generated when traditional silanes react in silica-rubber, both during processing and over the life of the tire. These emissions adversely impact the environment, and they can raise costs due to the need for emission controls during manufacturing.
    "GE's LowV silanes can make a significant improvement in the cost of silica tires, helping to increase their competitive advantage against tires utilizing carbon black," said Mike Stout, global marketing manager, tire, GE Advanced Materials. "Equally important, these materials can noticeably lower ethanol emissions, helping to support a cleaner environment and reducing abatement costs."
    Compared with polysulfide silanes, GE's NXT LowV silane can help reduce ethanol emissions by up to 70 percent, and NXT Ultra-LowV silane may help reduce these emissions by up to 90 percent. The GE materials also improve upon the multi-step, temperature-sensitive mixing processes of older technologies. By enabling "hot and fast" one-step mixing at higher temperatures (up to 180 C), GE's NXT low-VOC silane grades may help reduce tread mixing costs and cure time, provide long shelf life of rubber compound, and impact the reduction of VOC emissions.

    About GE Advanced Materials

    GE Advanced Materials (www.geadvancedmaterials.com) is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:

--	Plastics - which is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, serving customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (www.geplastics.com).
--	Silicones - which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offering silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (www.gesilicones.com).
--	Quartz - which provides high-purity quartz and advanced ceramic materials for the semiconductor, telecommunications, lighting, electronics, personal care, water purification, and various other industries (www.gequartz.com).

    GE (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology, media, and financial services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming, and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

    * NXT, NXT LowV, and NXT Ultra-LowV are trademarks of General Electric Company.

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CONTACT: The Americas GE Advanced Materials Nancy Pitts, 203-761-1938 Nancy.Pitts@ge.com or The Americas GE Advanced Materials Milissa Rocker, 518-233-3893 Milissa.Rocker@ge.com or The Americas AH&M Marketing Communications Jim Allison, 413-448-2260, Ext. 25 jallison@ahminc.com or Europe Marketing Solutions Folke Markus, +31 164 317 038 fmarkus@marketingsolutions.be or China Weber Shandwick Barbara Shao, +86 21 6322 6024 bshao@webershandwick.com or Japan Weber Shandwick Masahiro Sakamoto, +81-3-5427-53 msakamoto@webershandwick.com

KEYWORD: GERMANY INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT SOURCE: GE Advanced Materials

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