HNBR Rubber Compound

Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) delivers what standard NBR cannot: sustained performance from -40°C to +165°C, a fully saturated polymer backbone that resists ozone attack, and tensile strength that holds up under continuous mechanical stress. The HNBR rubber compound is the material of choice for automotive timing belts, EV powertrain seals, refrigerant systems, and oil…

Specifications

Product Type:

Rubber compound (raw mixed compound; finished/semi-finished parts available)

Base Polymer:

Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR)

Structure:

Solid; peroxide-cured standard; sulfur-cure available for dynamic flex applications

Color: 

Black (standard); grey, green, custom colors per spec

Surface Finish:

Smooth / matte; per customer drawing

Standards & Compliance: 

Hardness:

40–90 Shore A (standard grades: 60 ± 5, 70 ± 5, 80 ± 5 Shore A)

Tensile Strength: 

≥ 30 kN/m

Elongation at Break:

≥ 200% (typical 250–400%)

Tear Strength:

≥ 30 kN/m

Recommended Service Temperature:

-40°C to +165°C continuous; short-term peaks to +175°C

Hot Air Aging:

150°C × 168h: tensile retention ≥ 70%; hardness change ≤ ±8 Shore A

Low‑Temperature Brittleness: 

≤ -40°C (low-ACN grades: ≤ -45°C)

Typical Applications:

Automotive timing belts, EV powertrain/battery seals, oil field downhole packers and stators, refrigerant and A/C system seals, power steering hose liners

Description:

HNBR starts where NBR leaves off. The hydrogenation process selectively saturates the carbon-carbon double bonds in the nitrile butadiene backbone — eliminating the primary sites vulnerable to ozone attack, thermal cracking, and oxidative degradation. The result is a polymer that retains NBR’s core polarity (and therefore its oil resistance), while gaining a thermally stable, chemically inert backbone that functions continuously at 165°C rather than the 120°C ceiling of standard nitrile.

The acrylonitrile (ACN) content is the principal tuning lever. Grades at 36–44% ACN offer the strongest resistance to petroleum oils, ATF fluids, and engine coolants — critical for EV powertrain seal applications where exposure to thermal management fluids is constant. Drop to 17–28% ACN, and low-temperature flexibility improves sharply, reaching brittleness points below -45°C — the territory needed for snowmobile belts and cold-climate hydraulic seals. Neither extreme is a compromise: tensile strength remains ≥ 14 MPa across the ACN range, and ozone resistance is excellent in all fully saturated grades, full stop.

Typical Industry Applications

Proven performance across demanding manufacturing environments.

Industry Typical Use Cases
Automotive & Motorcycle Timing belts, power steering hose liners, engine mount bonded-metal bushings, crankshaft seals, torsional vibration dampers, A/C compressor shaft seals
EV & New Energy Vehicles Battery module edge seals, e-drive unit oil seals, thermal management fluid hose liners, high-voltage connector gaskets, charging port weatherstrips
Oil & Gas / Energy Downhole stator and packer seals, blow-out preventer elements, wellhead gaskets, sour gas (H₂S) service seals, hydraulic pump seals
Refrigeration & HVAC Refrigerant-compatible O-rings and shaft seals (R134a, R410A, R32), compressor valve gaskets, air-handling unit seals
Industrial Machinery Hydraulic cylinder rod and piston seals, roll covers, conveyor belt edge seals, pump diaphragms, high-pressure hose assemblies
Construction & Architecture Expansion joint gaskets in thermal-cycling environments, chemical-resistant structural seals for industrial facilities

Chemical Resistance Table:

Chemical / Medium Resistance Notes
Petroleum engine oil (SAE 5W-30 to 20W-50) ✅ Excellent Primary design target; minimal swell even at 150°C
Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) ✅ Excellent High-ACN grades recommended
Power steering fluid ✅ Excellent Confirmed across common OEM fluid types
Diesel fuel ✅ Excellent Performs well in aged/oxidized diesel
Biodiesel (FAME blends) ✓ Good Higher ACN grades preferred for extended exposure
H₂S sour gas (wet) ✓ Good Recognized oilfield specification material
Refrigerants R134a, R410A, R32 ✓ Good Verify with application-specific immersion test for R32
Ethylene glycol coolant ✅ Excellent Suitable for EV thermal management fluid circuits
Dilute acids (sulfuric, hydrochloric < 30%) ✓ Good Concentration and temperature dependent
Dilute alkalis (NaOH < 20%) ✓ Good Acceptable for most industrial cleaning environments
Ozone / UV weathering ✅ Excellent Fully saturated grades — no antiozonant needed
Hot water / steam ≤ 120°C ✓ Good Extended steam exposure at higher temperatures reduces tensile
Aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene, xylene) ⚠ Limited Moderate swelling; not recommended for prolonged immersion
Polar ketones (MEK, acetone) ✗ Not recommended Significant swelling — specify FKM for ketone environments
Concentrated oxidizing acids (HNO₃ > 30%) ✗ Not recommended Chemical attack regardless of grade

In-House Quality Assurance & Testing:

At Micune Rubber, batch-to-batch consistency is guaranteed through our ISO-9001 certified Quality Management System. Every rubber compound and custom extrusion undergoes rigorous evaluation in our dedicated testing laboratory before shipment. We utilise industry-standard baseline testing, including Mooney Viscometers to measure compound viscosity and Torque Rheometers to verify exact vulcanisation characteristics. This ensures every material formulation strictly adheres to your required specifications and processing parameters.

Mooney Viscometer

Mooney Viscometer

abrasive testing machine

Abrasive Testing Machine

Burn-in Chamber

Burn-in Chamber

Torque Rheometer

Torque-Rheometer

RFQ:

Extruded profiles are held to ±0.2 mm on critical cross-sectional dimensions as a standard tolerance; tighter tolerances (±0.1 mm) are achievable on molded parts with matched tooling. 2D PDF, DXF, or STEP files are accepted, and Micune engineers will issue a DFM review before tooling commitment to flag any dimensional concerns.

Standard documentation includes SGS test reports for EU RoHS (all 10 restricted substances ND), REACH SVHC, and PAHs per AfPS GS 2019:01 — all conducted on production-representative black HNBR samples. An ISO 9001:2015 certificate and material TDS are included with every qualified compound; IMDS or customer-specific declaration formats can be completed upon request.

ACN content is selectable from 17% to 44% depending on the target balance of oil resistance and cold-flex performance; hardness is adjustable from 40 to 90 Shore A through filler and plasticizer loading. Color options beyond standard black (carbon black) include grey, green, and brown using inorganic pigment systems compatible with peroxide cure; fluorescent colors are not recommended due to cure interference.

Compound development samples (raw mixed slab or simple extruded strip) are typically ready in 7–10 business days for standard ACN grades. Molded prototype parts requiring new tooling carry a 3–4 week lead time from drawing approval, inclusive of first-article dimensional and physical property testing; existing cavity tooling can deliver samples in 10–14 days.

Minimum order for raw HNBR compound is 200 kg per grade; finished molded or extruded parts MOQ is negotiable based on part complexity and is typically agreed at the RFQ stage. Compound is shipped in 25 kg moisture-barrier PE bags on pallets; finished parts are packed per customer specification, with standard lead times of 15–25 days for production orders shipping from Guangzhou to major global ports.

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