Provided is a method for producing a rubber composition that includes a rubber component (A) including natural rubber, at least one filler (B) selected from an inorganic filler and carbon black, and a monohydrazide compound (C) supported on a solid. The monohydrazide compound (C) is represented by general formula (I): RCONHNH.sub.2, where R represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having from 3 to 30 carbon atoms, or an aryl group. The method comprises compounding in an optional preliminary compounding stage and a plurality of compounding stages, and adding the monohydrazide compound (C) supported on the solid and kneading in the preliminary compounding stage and/or a first compounding stage. Also provided is a rubber composition produced with this method.

Disclosed herein is a foamable composition including a polymer component, a foaming agent, a crosslinking agent, a filler, and a recovered silicon sludge containing silicon carbide and silicon. The polymer component is present in an amount ranging from 15 wt % to 60 wt % based on a total weight of the foamable composition. A foamed material prepared from the foamable composition and a composite product including the same are also disclosed.

The present invention provides a chloroprene-based polymer latex composition, which has a low residual amount of mercaptans with hygiene concerns remaining, and which can obtain a chloroprene-based polymer dip-molded article having excellent flexibility and high breaking strength even with use of less vulcanization accelerator and sulfur, due to the plasticizing effect of a low molecular weight polymer and the use of a heteroaromatic ring-based compound.

According to the present invention, there is provided a chloroprene-based polymer latex composition including a chloroprene-based polymer latex, a metal oxide, and a heteroaromatic ring-based compound, wherein the chloroprene-based polymer latex composition includes 0.5 to 15.0 parts by mass of the metal oxide and 0.1 to 10.0 parts by mass of the heteroaromatic ring-based compound per 100 parts by mass of solid content of the chloroprene-based polymer latex, the chloroprene-based polymer latex composition has a content of alkyl mercaptan compounds of 0.34 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of solid content of the chloroprene-based polymer latex, and the heteroaromatic ring-based compound is represented by chemical formula (1).

An electrically conductive rubber composition is provided, which is usable for production of a transfer roller of a highly flexible foam satisfying requirements for cost reduction and weight reduction and having smaller foam cell diameters and, hence, ensuring higher-quality image formation with smaller environment-dependent variations in roller resistance. A transfer roller produced from the electrically conductive rubber composition, a production method for the transfer roller, and an image forming apparatus including the transfer roller are also provided. The electrically conductive rubber composition contains a rubber component including SBR and/or BR, EPDM and epichlorohydrin rubber, a crosslinking component, and 4 to 6 parts by mass of a foaming agent and 1.5 to 2.7 parts by mass of a foaming assisting agent based on 100 parts by mass of the rubber component. The transfer roller (1) is produced by extruding the electrically conductive rubber composition into a tubular body and performing an in-can vulcanization process on the tubular body. The image forming apparatus incorporates the transfer roller.

A masterbatch composition of elastomer and from 20 to 100 parts per hundred parts elastomer of fibrous micropulp wherein the micropulp has fibers with a volume weighted average fiber length of from 20 to 200 micrometers as measured by laser diffraction, a relative specific surface area of from 30 to 600 square meter per gram as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance and the fibers selected from the group consisting of aromatic polyamide, aromatic copolyamide, polyacrylonitrile and polyazole.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing thermal insulation expandable polystyrene particles and thermal insulation expandable polystyrene particles, and more particularly to a method of preparing thermal insulation expandable polystyrene particles which include preparing a mixture of expandable polystyrene particles and a thermal insulation material by mixing the expandable polystyrene particles and the thermal insulation material; preparing a mixture solution by dissolving chlorinated paraffin and at least one of a paraffin oil and a rubber resin in an organic solvent dissolving styrene; and softening a surface layer of the expandable polystyrene particles by spraying the mixture with the mixture solution, while stirring the mixture, and infiltrating the thermal insulation material, the chlorinated paraffin and the at least one of the paraffin oil and the rubber resin into the surface layer of the expandable polystyrene particles, and thermal insulation expandable polystyrene particles prepared by the same.

The present invention relates to a material for thermal and/or acoustic insulation which consists of at least 300 phr, preferably at least 400 phr, but less than 1200 phr, preferably less than 1000 phr, especially preferred less than 800 phr ingredients in total, comprising 100 phr of at least one polymer, of which at least 60 phr, preferably at least 70 phr, especially preferred at least 80 phr is chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), the process of manufacturing such material, wherein the polymeric material is expanded by decomposition of a chemical blowing agent.