A feasibility study was carried out on the utilization of Alkanolamide (ALK) on silica
reinforcement of natural rubber (NR) by using a semi-efficient cure system.The ALK was
incorporated into the NR compound at 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 9.0 phr.An investigation was
carried out to examine the effect of ALK on the cure characteristics and properties of NR
compounds. It was found that ALK gave shorter scorch and cure times for silica-filled NR
compounds.ALK also exhibited higher torque differences, tensile modulus, tensile
strength, hardness and crosslink density of up to 5.0 phr of ALK loading, and then
decreased with further increases of ALK loading.