The market demand for foam rubber (sponge rubber) is strong, and green environmental protection is the mainstream development trend of the industry.

Foam rubber, also known as sponge rubber, is a vulcanized rubber with a sponge-like porous structure. Foam rubber has the advantages of good softness, high elasticity, lightweight, good sound insulation, aging resistance, and impact resistance. It has broad application prospects in the fields of sporting goods, medical supplies, daily necessities, aerospace, and automobile manufacturing. According to different structures and pore sizes, foam rubber can be divided into four types: micropores, open cells, closed cells and mixed cells.

Molding is a key link in foam rubber production, and can be subdivided into flat molding, extrusion molding, and compression molding. The extrusion molding method has the advantages of simple operation and high work efficiency. It is suitable for continuous production processes and is the mainstream molding process of foam rubber. After years of experience accumulation, my country’s foam rubber molding technology has gradually developed and matured, and its output and quality have continued to improve.

The main raw materials of foam rubber include styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), silicone rubber, nitrile rubber (NBR), ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (DPDM), natural rubber (NR), recycled rubber (RR), polyurethane (PU), polychloride Ethylene (PVC), etc. In recent years, with the deepening of the concept of green environmental protection, recycled rubber has gradually been widely used in the production process of foam rubber. my country is a major producer of recycled rubber, accounting for nearly 70% of the world’s output. As the output and quality of recycled rubber increase, my country’s foam rubber industry will develop in a green and environmentally friendly direction.

According to the “2023-2028 China Foam Rubber (Sponge Rubber) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》 shows that foam rubber has a wide range of application fields and strong market demand, with sporting goods, medical supplies, daily necessities, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, etc. as its end markets. In the field of sporting goods, foam rubber can be used to produce yoga mats, foam rollers, jump rope handles, etc.; in the field of medical supplies, foam rubber can be used to produce wound dressings, prosthetic eyes, and human soft tissue filling materials; in the aerospace field, foam rubber can be used It is engaged in the production of aircraft engine seals and aircraft tires.

There are many foam rubber manufacturers in my country, but the market is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Jinghua New Materials, Tiansheng New Materials, Yibao Polymer Materials, Junjiang Foam Rubber Products, Zhongxiang New Materials, etc. are the main foam rubber manufacturers in my country. It is expected that in the future, as local companies continue to make breakthroughs in technology, the concentration of my country’s foam rubber industry will increase.

Industry analysts said that foam rubber has a wide range of applications and the industry has good development prospects. Benefiting from national policy support, my country’s foam rubber industry is gradually developing in a green and environmentally friendly direction. At present, my country’s foam rubber industry has a low concentration level, and the market is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. In the future, driven by downstream demand, my country’s foam rubber market space will continue to expand, and companies with high-performance foam rubber production capabilities will occupy a larger market space.