The invention relates to aA reinforced product, which can be used especially for reinforcing a finished rubber article, comprisingcomprises one or more textile or metallic reinforcing thread(s), said thread(s) being covered with a sheath comprising a thermoplastic polymer composition, the sheathed thread(s) being themselves embedded in a rubber composition referred to as coating rubber, characterized in that this coating rubber is a composition based on at least one diene elastomer, a reinforcing filler, and a sulphursulfur-based vulcanization system, which system comprises a vulcanization accelerator having a vulcanization initiation time, referred to as “t0”, of less than 3.5 minutes, preferably of less than or equal to 3 minutes.

According to the process for preparing a vulcanized rubber composition of the invention comprising (a) a step of preparing a master batch comprising a modified conjugated diene polymer and silica, (b) a step of preparing a master batch comprising an isoprene rubber and silica, (c) a step of kneading the master batch obtained in (a) and the master batch obtained in (b), and (d) a step of vulcanizing a kneaded product obtained in (c), wherein the obtained vulcanized rubber composition comprises a phase A comprising a modified conjugated diene polymer and a phase B comprising an isoprene rubber, which are incompatible with each other, an abundance ratio α of silica in the phase A satisfies 0.5≦α≦0.9 (Relation 1), and a proportion β of the modified conjugated diene polymer satisfies 0.4≦β≦0.8 (Relation 2) it is possible to improve performance on ice and abrasion resistance and to provide a vulcanized rubber composition having excellent performance on ice and abrasion resistance, and a studless tire with a tread made using the same.

Provided herein is a process for treating dregs for the application thereof as vulcanization activator of rubbers, putting an end to this residue generated in the cellulose industry and providing vulcanized rubbers with similar or enhanced properties in relation to those already known. The process for treating dregs includes the steps of: (a) drying the dregs; and (b) micronization of the dry dregs to an average particle size (d50) from 2 to 45 micrometers. Further provided herein are treated dregs, a use of treated dregs as vulcanization activator, and a process for vulcanizing rubber and the vulcanized rubber.

A reinforced product, which can be used especially for reinforcing a finished rubber article, comprises one or more textile or metallic reinforcing thread(s), said thread(s) being covered with a sheath comprising a thermoplastic polymer composition, the sheathed thread(s) being themselves embedded in a rubber composition referred to as coating rubber, characterized in that this coating rubber is a composition based on at least one diene elastomer, a reinforcing filler, and a sulfur-based vulcanization system, which system comprises a metal oxide and a stearic acid derivative in amounts such that the ratio of the content of metal oxide and of stearic acid derivative, in phr, is less than 7, preferably less than 5.

A method for preparing a vulcanizable composition of matter, the method comprising mixing, within a first mixing step, rubber, silica, and silica coupling agent to form a first masterbatch composition, adding nicotinamide to the first masterbatch composition and mixing within a second mixing step to form a second masterbatch composition, and adding a curative to the second masterbatch composition and mixing within a final mixing step.

To provide surface-modified fibers and reinforcing fibers that are capable of enhancing the adhesiveness to rubber, without the use of resorcinol and formaldehyde, and a molded article using the same. Surface-modified fibers include fibers, and a surface-modifying layer covering at least a part of a surface of the fibers, and have a solid surface zeta potential on a surface of the surface-modifying layer of −20.0 to 30.0 mV.

According to a production method of a rubber composition for tire of the present invention comprising a rubber component (A) comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of a natural rubber and a synthetic diene rubber, a filler, a coupling agent (D) of (C.sub.pH.sub.2p+1O).sub.3—Si—(CH.sub.2).sub.q—S—CO—C.sub.kH.sub.2k+1, and a vulcanizing agent (E) comprising a vulcanizer and a vulcanization accelerator, the method comprising: a step X1 of kneading all amount of A, a part of the filler and a part of D, a step X2 of kneading the kneaded product of step X1, the remaining amount of the filler and D, and a step F of kneading the kneaded product of step X2 and E, it is possible to produce a rubber composition for tire in which fuel efficiency and abrasion resistance are improved in a good balance.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide: an anti-vibration rubber composition which enables the production of a hardened rubber article having excellent heat resistance, compression set, low dynamic magnification, tensile properties (elongation, strength), low-temperature properties and workability (scorch resistance); and an anti-vibration rubber which is produced by hardening the rubber composition. The anti-vibration rubber composition is characterized by comprising a rubber component mainly composed of a diene rubber, a bismaleimide compound as a vulcanizing agent, and N-phenyl-N-(trichloromethylthio)benzenesulfoneamide.

A modified diene polymer is obtained by decomposing a diene polymer having a carbon-carbon double bond in a main chain by oxidative cleavage of the carbon-carbon double bond to reduce a molecular weight, changing acido-basic properties of a system containing polymer fragments obtained such that the system is changed into a basic system when the system is acidic and the system is changed into an acidic system when the system is basic to combine the polymer fragments, thereby obtaining an intermediate polymer having an altered structure, and epoxidizing a carbon-carbon double bond moiety of a main chain of the intermediate polymer.

The present invention relates to a foam made of a specific material having superior properties and to cosmetics comprising said foam.