VULCANISING RUBBER

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 30, 4 August 1923, Page 14

VULCANISING RUBBER

IMPORTANT CLAIM FOR A NEW

INVENTION,

A new process for the vulcanising of rubber was demonstrated recently in England, says the "Manchester Guardian." Mr. 'S. J. Peachey, who was formerly lecturer in pure and applied chemistry at the Manchester School of Technology, is the inventor of the process, which is based on the discovery that when rubber or a compond containing rubber is exposed alternately to the action of sulphur dioxide and of hydrogen sulphide these two gases diffuse into the material and, interacting therein with the liberation of nascent sulphur, bring about a rapid and perfect vulcanisation without the aid of heat.

It is claimed that the discovery represents the most important advance which has been made in the industry since Parkes patented the sulphur chloride process in 1846. By means of the new invention it becomes possible, it is claimed, to introduce into the rubber a large variety of new colouring matters, including natural dyestuffs and coal-tar dyestuffs, and so obtain a very wide range of colour effects. An importantresult of the discovery is that leather, waste wool, meal, cork dust, and other organic materials can be compounded with a relatively small quantity of rubber, yielding cheap, fully vulcanised products with new properties and durability. A new class of material to replace linoleum, upholstery, and book-binding leather can be produced by the use of leather waste (buffings and shavings) in conjunction with the new process. The process, it is claimed, lends itself to the manufacture not only of hardwearing leathers suitable for boot and shoe manufacture, but also of delicately coloured and grained leathers for upholstery wojk. The application of the Peachey process gives the compound of rubber and leather waste the appearance of . ordinary leather. It is also claimed that the cost works out at about one-third of the cost of. leather used in shoemaking, and the use of nails or stitches is entirely eliminated. A number of wall coverings in a variety of ait shades were shown to the visitors, and a heavier substance made by the new process which was a substitute for.floor coverings was also exhibited, a.nd it is claimed that these can be manufactured at a, considerably lower cost than the materials at present marketed.

As thousands of tons of leather buffings are wasted annually the invention may open up a wide field of development and at the same time lighten the cost of a.number of useful household commodities. ■ ■ ■ ■