Posted on Stockhouse... Good reading for sure!
SRI vs Delink & Levgum
philmathias09/27/2009 12:56:57 PM
I wrote to SRI for comparison and differences in tech & patent, was surprised by the quick and detailed reply.
Here it is ;
Thank you very much for youremailed inquiry. SRI is a private company and as such we do not normallyrespond to emailed questions regarding our technologies. We also as a rule trywherever possible, not to comment on technologies and proprietary processesthat do not belong to us. As you seem to be a little confused about just howour technology works and how it is completely different, technically and interms of performance from the Levgum and Delink technologies, (which are bothvery similar to each other) we have attempted remove your confusion byproviding you with some relevant facts.
The following points shouldprovide you with some clarity on this matter:
1.Levgum and theDelink processes do not require the resultant material of their process to becompounded with any chemicals again, nor do they require any addition ofSulphur to be added to re-vulcanize them. In both cases the resultant materialcan be vulcanized again by merely heating them up in a press.<!--[endif]-->
Inthe case of Magnum SRI activated material it needs to be compounded again withchemicals and requires the addition of Sulphur (or peroxide/resin) before itcan be vulcanized again
2.The SRI activationsystem and process is designed for high volume and provides economies of scaleacross the board. The other technologies mentioned (Levgum & Delink) arevery traditional and revolve around the use of half century old, 2 roll mills,high friction ratio refiners and in some cases even highly cooled extruders.These systems substantially limit the operating batch volumes, no more than15kg per batch and taking nearly 20 minutes to complete, making it a nearimpossible task to address any real volumes. Possible for small operators butthe capital outlay to throughput ratio and high a chemical cost severely limitsviability.
In the case of SRIactivation we use a proprietary machine processing system that does not have orutilize 2 roll mills, refiners or extruders (cooled or otherwise). The SRIactivation system has a batch size of a 250kg and a process time of 20/25minutes per batch (specific to target application). The batch volumes aredesigned to match those of large rubber product manufacturers allowing for themaximum flexibility for customization. The economies of scale allow forconditions that support substantially lower cost than the technologiesmentioned for comparison. One machine provides a throughput of 750kg/hour whichequates to 5,500 Metric Tonnes per annum compared to 330 Metric tonnes perannum in the case of Refiner/friction mills used by (Levgum and Delink)assuming it was able to support near non-stop operation which it cannot. Youwould require 17 large refiner/friction mills with requisite modifications andthe assumption made (with unavoidable differences in performance andproperties) to equal the throughput of 1 (One) SRI activation machine.
3.The SRI activationsystem is very frugal in terms of energy consumption compared to the gluttonousconsumption of processes utilizing 2 roll mills, refiners and extruders as inthe case of Levgum and Delink. So with the advantage of economies of scale byhaving a large batch volume, in some cases more than 10 times that of both theprocesses referred to. Further with very low energy consumption, the SRIactivation system process cost is a fraction of that of the other systems. TheSRI activation system is modular so increasing capacity is not a complicated,capital intensive affair and can be implemented as needed and planned withrelative ease. This allows us to share a larger margin with manufacturers whoneed it desperately, putting us in the advantageous position of improving ourcustomer’s viability and bottom line in a meaningful manner while ensuring ourown.
4.The Magnum SRIactivated compound and custom compounds are comfortable in the conditions ofBanburys and intermixs (elevated temperatures), standard production equipmentin rubber based manufacturing industries. By having a cure safety similar tovirgin compounds they can be processed safely together without makingmodifications to the manufacturers process protocols and no increase in theprocess time. It does not reduce valuable throughput in the manufacture’splant.
This not the case withthe technologies mentioned, (Levgum, Delink) both suffer from very low curesafety due to the quantum of accelerators used. This makes normal volumecompounding in standard processing equipment (Banburys /intermixs) difficult ifnot impossible as the subsequent cure safety would often cause the material toscorch before product can be produced. With limited quantities and mixing doneseparately in mixing mills, with temperatures managed carefully, somegood results are possible but generally considered too much work, too littlevolume, too high cost and process changes with unacceptable throughput lossesfor the manufacturers.
5.The Magnum SRIactivated compounds and custom compounds have storage stability / shelf life,stable and tested for several months without any loss of properties. Thisability provides Magnum SRI activated compounds and custom compounds with theflexibility needed to address logistical conditions on the ground, supportingtheir status as an industrial raw material.
This is clearly a problemthat both technologies mentioned share. They have a problem with storagehardening causing substantial loss in properties after relatively short storageintervals, in some cases just over a month. This makes it a problem formaterial produced with these processes to be used as industrial raw materials.Shipping time coupled with practical commercial and storage parameters in theircase are severely compromised. They would ideally need to be used within amonth or less which may be workable in limited conditions and volumes beyondwhich they become impractical.
We would like to add that thetechnology providers of the processes mentioned may have very recently come upwith solutions for some of the problems and differences mentioned, we are notaware of any public or technical information addressing such solutions havingbeen published. As such the above comment is only our considered opinion basedon available information.
The global market for recycledvalue added rubber material is enormous and growing, there is space for manytechnologies with all manner of processes to commercially and cost effectivelyintroduce their solutions to what is clearly a very important environmentalproblem. We are sure the technologies mentioned may over time find their nicheand prosper. We wish them well in their endeavours.
I hope the above informationprovides a clear explanation on the differences in the technologies andadequately addresses the spirit of your inquiry. We suggest you direct anyfurther clarification required on the subject to our partners in the UnitedStates, Magnum D’Or Resources Inc.who I believe will be very happy to address all your questions and doubtsappropriately.
Thank you for your interest inMagnum SRI and our technologies.
Yours sincerely
Sekhar Research Innovations
AI
