Kraton operates through two major segments: Polymer and Chemical. Our Polymer Segment is known for its styrenic block copolymers (SBC), isoprene rubber and isoprene rubber latex. Our Chemical Segment pioneered the process for refining crude tall oil (CTO) and crude sulfate turpentine (CST) into biobased chemicals such as tall oil fatty acids (TOFA), distilled tall oil (DTO) and tall oil rosins (TOR).
Kraton styrenic block copolymers (SBC) are a class of thermoplastic elastomers – a material that processes like plastic but behaves like rubber. This is largely due to the physical crosslinks inherent in the block copolymer structure, which are reversible when heated or dissolved. This enables the rubber to retain shape memory and enhance elasticity with easy processing characteristics. When the material is stretched, those crosslinks bring it back to its original shape.
Kraton CTO is a byproduct of pine wood pulping (Kraft process) used by many paper mills. The term “tall” originated from the Swedish term for pine trees. The pulpwood is delivered to pulp mills and is chipped and boiled with an alkali solution to produce white liquor and pulp. The water from the white liquor is then evaporated and the black liquor soap is skimmed off, and acidulated to make CTO.