Material of the Week - Nitrile

Hello again, it's George here the founder and very former CEO of MacLellan Rubber. As you know each week I am taking time from my busy schedule to share with you some of my rubber wisdom gained over the past 146 years.

This week I would like to focus on nitrile rubber or, to give it its formal name, butadiene acrylonitrile rubber; sometimes abbreviated to NBR and also BA to distinguish a standard commercial grade from a British standard (in this case BS2751).  

At MacLellan Rubber we supply from stock a full range of NBR / SBR commercial thicknesses ranging from 1mm thought to 25mm. In addition, we have a number of higher specification grades tested to varying standards to suit multiple applications, some of which I will run through here.

The BS2751 grades, the technical aspects of which are set out by the British Standards Institute (BSI), define the minimum requirements for physical characteristics like elongation, tensile strength, and polymer content thus ensuring that every batch made fully conforms to the standard's requirements. These grades perform significantly better at higher temperatures and in contact with various oils and chemicals compared to the commercial qualities.

Hydrogenated Nitrile, also commonly known as HNBR and highly saturated Nitrile, is a material which will give higher performance characteristics than a standard NBR. HNBR's improved material performance is due to Hydrogen atoms being added to the Butadiene structures within the chemical chain of the mix. This change makes the material all in all far more stable and resistant to oils and gases (including sour gas in petrochemical processing plants). The changes also enable the material to work safely in a much broader temperature spectrum.

With over 20 material options including the white EU1935:2004 grade, now available with nitrosamine free certification; a blue metal detectable grade on the way later this year; and a number of other bespoke options available, we are sure that we can assist you with your nitrile sealing applications. 

MacLellan Rubber's European manufacturing partner for these high grade nitriles gives you as the customer not only a high degree of security relating to product integrity and a fully traceable supply chain, but also shorter lead times for bespoke items thereby giving greater flexibility.

Remember to check back next week when I will be ruminating about another material. In the meantime, should you have a technical question or material requirements feel free to contact my colleagues Chris or Jen in the office on 01902 30 77 11.

Until next time