Lanxess launches 6PPD alternative for anti-aging tire protection

Cologne, Germany – Lanxess has developed a new anti-aging agent for the tire industry which has been billed as an alternative to 6PPD.

In an 8 Sept statement, the German chemicals supplier said the additive, with the chemical name CCPD (N,N'-Dicyclohexyl-p-phenylenediamine) and the commercial brand name Vulkanox 4060, can be used as an anti-aging agent to protect tires from damage caused by oxygen and ozone.

The alternative has been developed following concerns that degradation products of 6PPD, particularly 6PPD quinone, have been linked to coho salmon die-offs in the US.

Lanxess said that in environmental studies conducted to date, CCPD quinone, the corresponding transformation product of Vulkanox 4060, demonstrated “no observed acute effects in coho salmon testing up to the solubility limit.”

Having completed EU REACH registration, the product is now also approved for use in the European market, Lanxess added.

“Vulkanox 4060 is Lanxess’s response to a specific ecotoxicological and regulatory challenge the tire industry is facing,” said Holger Graf, head of the functional tire additives business line at Lanxess.

According to Graf, “extensive testing” by Lanxess and its customers has shown that CCPD matches the technical performance of 6PPD, while offering “a significantly improved environmental profile.”

Lanxess said it plans to begin initial commercial production of the product in the fourth quarter of the year, expecting strong interest from customers in Europe and the US.

The product was a finalist in the ERJ E4S Award 2026. 

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