Kumho Petrochemical rubbers gain 'ISCC Plus' certification

Seoul – Kumho Petrochemical has announced that four of its synthetic rubber products have obtained international sustainability & carbon certification (ISCC) Plus certification.

The products, which are mainly used for tires, include: solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR); high cis butadiene rubber (HBR), low cis butadiene rubber (LBR) and neodymium-catalyst ultra-high cis butadiene rubber (NdBR)

With the certification, the company said it had laid the groundwork for transitioning butadiene and styrene, the primary raw materials for the synthetic rubbers, to bio-based and renewable materials.

The company intends to “step-by-step” manufacture synthetic rubber using ISCC Plus–certified raw materials such as recycled styrene monomer (rSM), according to its 8 Feb statement.

To that end, Kumho Petrochemical said it will pyrolyse rSM and waste polystyrene to recover eco-friendly raw materials for synthetic rubbers and resins.

In November last year, Kumho Petrochemical announced a partnership to advance its production of rSM from waste plastics, using technology developed by Agilyx.

The Korean petrochemicals major also intends to acquire the ISCC Plus certificate for other synthetic rubber and resin products, including acrylonitrile butadiene latex.

“Starting with the current ISCC PLUS certification, we will fully build a sustainable product portfolio,” said president and CEO Baek Jong-hoon.

The certificate ISCC PLUS is an international certification system that verifies eco-friendliness and sustainability in the entire process from raw material purchase to production and sales based on the EU's renewable energy directive.