Environmentally friendly rubber composition

1. Belting for use in a conveyor, wherein the belting comprises:

a fabric base; and

an environmentally friendly rubber composition applied to at least one surface of the fabric base, wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition comprises:

a rubber component;

a filler provided at a concentration of between about 50 and 150 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component;

a processing oil that is substantially devoid of aromatic oil, wherein the processing oil comprises soybean oil, wherein the processing oil is provided at a concentration of between about 30 and 60 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component; and

a vulcanizing agent provided at a concentration of between about 1 and 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component, wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a tensile strength of between about 2,000 psi and about 2,500 psi, an elongation of between about 500% and about 600% and a Din abrasion of less than about 250 mm3.

2. The belting of claim 1 , wherein the fabric base contains at least one of spun fibers and filament fibers.

3. The belting of claim 1 , wherein the processing oil further comprises at least one of castor oil, coconut oil, cotton seed oil, linseed oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil and peanut oil.

4. The belting of claim 1 , wherein the rubber component comprises natural rubber, synthetic rubber or a combination thereof, wherein the filler comprises carbon black, silica, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, clay, mica or combinations thereof and wherein the vulcanizing agent comprises sulfur, organic peroxides or combinations thereof.

5. The belting of claim 1 , and further comprising at least one of N-phenyl-N′-cyclohexyl-p-phenylenediamine, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of up to about 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

6. The belting of claim 1 , and further comprising at least one of zinc oxide, stearic acid, diphenyl guanidine, N-tert-butyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, and sulfenamide (N-oxydiethylene benzothiazole sulfenamide) that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of between about 1 and 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

7. The belting of claim 1 , and further comprising at least one of paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic process oil, ethylene-α-olefin cooligomer, mineral oil, paraffin wax and fluid paraffin that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of not more than 5 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

8. The belting of claim 1 , wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a 300% modulus of between about 800 psi and about 1,200 psi, a Mooney viscosity low of between about 30 and about 50, and a tear strength of between about 200 lbs/inch and about 250 lbs/inch.

9. An environmentally friendly rubber composition comprising:

a rubber component;

a filler provided at a concentration of between about 50 and 150 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component;

a processing oil that is substantially devoid of aromatic oil, wherein the processing oil comprises soybean oil, wherein the processing oil is provided at a concentration of between about 30 and 60 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component; and

a vulcanizing agent provided at a concentration of between about 1 and 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component, wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a tensile strength of between about 2,000 psi and about 2,500 psi, an elongation of between about 500% and about 600% and a Din abrasion of less than about 250 mm3.

10. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , wherein the processing oil further comprises at least one of castor oil, coconut oil, cotton seed oil, linseed oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil and peanut oil.

11. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , wherein the rubber component comprises natural rubber, synthetic rubber or a combination thereof, wherein the filler comprises carbon black, silica, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, clay, mica or combinations thereof and wherein the vulcanizing agent comprises sulfur, organic peroxides or combinations thereof.

12. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , and further comprising at least one of N-phenyl-N′-cyclohexyl-p-phenylenediamine, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of up to about 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

13. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , and further comprising at least one of zinc oxide, stearic acid, diphenyl guanidine, N-tert-butyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, and sulfenamide (N-oxydiethylene benzothiazole sulfenamide) that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of between about 1 and 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

14. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , and further comprising at least one of paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic process oil, ethylene-α-olefin cooligomer, mineral oil, paraffin wax and fluid paraffin that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of not more than 5 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component.

15. The environmentally friendly rubber composition of claim 9 , wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a 300% modulus of between about 800 psi and about 1,200 psi, a Mooney viscosity low of between about 30 and about 50, and a tear strength of between about 200 lbs/inch and about 250 lbs/inch.

16. A method of belting for use in a conveyor, wherein the method comprises:

preparing an environmentally friendly rubber composition comprising a rubber component, a filler, a processing oil and a vulcanizing agent, wherein the filler is provided at a concentration of between about 50 and 150 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component, wherein the processing oil is substantially devoid of aromatic oil, wherein the processing oil comprises soybean oil, wherein the processing oil is provided at a concentration of between about 30 and 60 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component and wherein the vulcanizing agent is provided at a concentration of between about 1 and 10 parts per hundred weight of the rubber component, wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a tensile strength of between about 2,000 psi and about 2,500 psi, an elongation of between about 500% and about 600% and a Din abrasion of less than about 250 mm3;

coating the rubber composition on a fabric base to form a coated belt; and

vulcanizing the coated belt to form the conveyor.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition is coated on the fabric base using at least one of skim coating and friction coating.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the processing oil further comprises at least one of castor oil, coconut oil, cotton seed oil, linseed oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil and peanut oil.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the rubber component comprises natural rubber, synthetic rubber or a combination thereof, wherein the filler comprises carbon black, silica, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, clay, mica or combinations thereof and wherein the vulcanizing agent comprises sulfur, organic peroxides or combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 16 , and further comprising at least one of paraffinic, naphthenic or aromatic process oil, ethylene-α-olefin cooligomer, mineral oil, paraffin wax and fluid paraffin that is provided in the environmentally friendly rubber composition at a concentration of not more than 5 parts by weight of the rubber component.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the environmentally friendly rubber composition exhibits a 300% modulus of between about 800 psi and about 1,200 psi, a Mooney viscosity low of between about 30 and about 50, a tear strength of between about 200 lbs/inch and about 250 lbs/inch.