Natural rubber is a crucial strategic material and industrial raw material for the nation. It is used in the production of automotive parts such as tires, rubber tubes, and rubber seals, as well as daily necessities such as rubber shoes and rubber gloves. China is also the world's largest consumer of raw rubber and the largest tire producer. With continuous technological advancements, the applications of rubber continue to expand.

　　In the rubber industry, the mixing process is critical, playing a decisive role in the process performance, quality, and service life of rubber products. Currently, the traditional dry multi-stage mixing technology is still used, which has a lengthy process, low production efficiency, and significant heat generation in the rubber, leading to a decline in other rubber properties. Compared to traditional processes, the entire technical system of Jiyuan Hongxin Rubber Composite Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hongxin Rubber") uses a simpler production process, significantly reducing equipment investment and energy consumption, while directly using fresh latex as a raw material. This completely eliminates the finished product process of traditional natural rubber in the entire industrial chain, minimizing pollution.

　　On September 2, reporters from Dahe Daily and Yu Video visited Hongxin Rubber in the Nanomaterials Industrial Park in Wulongkou Town, Jiyuan City, experiencing firsthand the company's innovative transformation in the rubber manufacturing industry driven by new productive forces.

Lü Qingxin, general manager of Hongxin Rubber Company, introduces the company's advanced technology

New technology application, quantitative production: The rubber industry accelerates

　　That day, reporters saw at Hongxin Rubber in the industrial park that the production workshop, already in operation, was filled with the roar of machinery. In the nearly 2,000-square-meter mixing rubber production workshop spanning two floors, various large machines were operating at full capacity. In contrast to the "bustle" of the machines, there were few personnel on site; only a few workers walked around checking the operation of the machines in the large production workshop...

　　“Our water-based dispersed wet mixing technology has achieved fully automated control of the rubber mixing process, requiring fewer people, is pollution-free, and highly efficient. It fundamentally reforms the traditional production model and truly achieves green production.” As the company's wet mixing technology matures, the quality of rubber products has been recognized by leading tire customers. Lü Qingxin, the 54-year-old general manager of Hongxin Rubber, has higher expectations and confidence in technological innovation.

　　“After this production line reaches its production capacity, the annual output value is expected to exceed 300 million yuan.” He said that starting next year, Hongxin Rubber's new factory area will further expand its production capacity, fully achieve business data interconnection, and build a smart factory. It will use digital technology to empower rubber mixing production lines, helping the company to develop rapidly with high quality and promote industrial progress.

　　Currently, the company's products, produced using "water-based dispersed full-formula wet mixing rubber" technology, include white carbon black, natural rubber wet mixing masterbatch, and full-formula wet mixing rubber. These can be widely used in engineering tires, aviation tires, high-performance passenger car tires, off-road tires, mining conveyor belts, shock absorbers, and other rubber products. Some products have been recognized by many domestic and foreign rubber companies and have received industry approval, and initial market development has been completed.

　　“Hongxin Rubber's full-formula production technology for water-based dispersed wet mixing rubber will bring profound changes to the traditional rubber production model and will help the rubber industry transition from discrete production to process-oriented production.” Lü Qingxin introduced that the company, using nanomaterials as a lever and mixing technology as a breakthrough point, has completed a complete technical system for the full-formula production of water-based dispersed wet mixing rubber after nearly 20 years of arduous research and development. Currently, the company's first production line produces wet-mixed natural rubber masterbatch, and a 20,000-ton/year production line for full-formula natural and synthetic rubber is under construction, with an expected launch in the second half of next year.”

Hongxin Rubber production scene

Research results bring economic benefits

　　Core technologies originating from abroad and thin profit margins are challenges faced by many industrial enterprises today. From another perspective, universities and other research institutions with innovation capabilities and technological innovation face difficulties in the commercialization of research results, and the contradiction between production and research is prominent. Therefore, accelerating the transformation of research results and cultivating core competitiveness is urgent.

　　In 2021, relying on the research results of the water-based dispersed full-formula wet mixing technology with independent intellectual property rights from Professor Zhang Zhijun's team at Henan University, Hongxin Rubber took root in Jiyuan and successfully overcame the last mile of wet mixing technology from the laboratory to continuous industrial production.

　　Zhang Zhijun, male, Han nationality, born in October 1958, holds a doctorate from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is a specially appointed professor at Henan University. He is the chief engineer of the "National and Local Joint Engineering Center for Application Technology of Nano-hybrid Materials." He has won the "National Science and Technology Invention Second Prize" and has been cordially received by party and state leaders. For nearly 20 years, Professor Zhang Zhijun's team, as experts in nanomaterials, has devoted themselves to research in the field of rubber mixing, forming their unique material dispersion theory and finding a green, efficient, and advanced technological path—full-formula wet continuous mixing technology, forming a systematic innovation of equipment, processes, and digital control. In June 2023, Hongxin Rubber's complete set of industrial production equipment successfully completed its first batch of materials, not only resulting in superior product performance but also making zero-carbon production in the rubber industry possible.

　　“The water-based dispersed wet mixing rubber technology has achieved a continuous mixing process, simplifying the mixing procedure, reducing mixing equipment, energy, and labor input, thus significantly reducing mixing costs and equipment investment by more than 50%. This technology features continuous, intelligent, and green characteristics and will play a positive role in the rubber industry's green energy saving and emission reduction, carbon neutrality, etc., helping the Chinese rubber industry reach new heights globally.” Lü Qingxin said confidently.

　　With the success of the wet continuous mixing technology, while significantly improving the comprehensive performance of rubber products, Hongxin Rubber has also become one of the few companies in China that have truly achieved large-scale industrial production, verifying the "methodology" that Lü Qingxin and his team members have always adhered to—transforming the industry through innovation. Hongxin Rubber technicians are inspecting the equipment operation

Striving for excellence: Building a comprehensive technology group

　　In the Nanomaterials Industrial Park, Hongxin Rubber has grown rapidly. With its leading innovative core technology, Hongxin Rubber was recognized as a national high-tech small and medium-sized enterprise in 2023. In June 2024, the company was included in the list of cultivated industrial clusters for green manufacturing in Henan Province. At that time, Hongxin Rubber added modified nano-silicon dioxide to natural latex, shortening the latex coagulation time from more than 20 hours to a dozen seconds, making continuous rubber mixing a reality. Currently, the company has built the world's only continuous automated production line for wet-mixed rubber, with energy savings of more than 80% in the mixing process.

　　“Birds of a feather flock together; butterflies are drawn to fragrant flowers.” Reporters learned that, as a city traditionally dominated by industrial production, Jiyuan has been continuously optimizing its industrial structure in recent years. By reducing the weight of heavy industry and increasing the volume of high-tech industries, it has gradually cultivated a number of emerging industries, among which the nanomaterials industry stands out. Currently, it has built the province's only nanomaterials industrial park.

　　“We want entrepreneurs to not only start their businesses in the park but also to keep their hearts in Wulongkou Town.” In an interview, Wang Defeng, the person in charge of the nanomaterials industrial park, introduced that, in terms of policy support, the park has launched a number of preferential support policies, including "two months free and three months reduced" rent, and strengthened talent support; in terms of technical support, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Henan University, and other universities and research institutions have provided strong technical support for the industrial park.

　　Wang Defeng stated that the industrial park will also build supporting large-scale instruments and a shared analytical testing service platform to provide nanomaterial analysis testing services, pilot-scale expansion, and engineering verification tests for enterprises entering the incubation park. In addition, the park also provides one-stop incubation services for projects entering the park, including entrepreneurship training, platform exchange, business registration, tax registration, and legal consultation.

　　“It is expected that the company's production capacity will reach 30,000-50,000 tons by 2025.” Lü Qingxin is full of confidence for the future. He stated that, as a technology-driven enterprise, starting in 2026, the company will launch the construction of multiple centers. Relying on the "Hongxin Nanomaterials Research Institute," Hongxin Rubber will be built into a comprehensive technology group integrating rubber, nano-metals, and advanced electronic ceramic materials, becoming a representative of new productive forces.