Blume new Chairman of ETE department at University of Twente

After her study at the Technical University in Hanover, Germany, she obtained her PhD degree at the German Institute of Rubber Technology (DIK) in Hanover on a thesis titled “Mechanistik und einflußnehmende Parameter der Bildung von N-Nitrosaminen bei der Herstellung und Lagerung von Vulkanisaten” (Mechanism and influencing parameters for the formation of N-nitrosamines at the production and storage of rubber vulcanisates). In 1996 she joined the company Degussa in Cologne, Germany (now: Evonik). She was in charge of the development of new filler systems based on silica and silanes for rubber, especially for low rolling resistance tyres. Since 2011 she is responsible for the intellectual property of Evonik regarding the use of silica and silanes in rubber.

The research topics of the ETE chair are rather unique not only within the faculty, but also on national level. ETE is the only chair performing academic research on elastomer technology in the Netherlands. One of the main research topics of the chair is the improvement of the properties of different elastomer products. The improvement of tyre properties like wet traction, rolling resistance and abrasion resistance has become of special interest especially due to the new tyre-label in Europe and the world-wide discussion about reduction of the CO₂ emission. The investigation of renewable raw materials like natural rubber as the main constituent of truck tyres is also of special interest. For that reason, there is a close co-operation with the Prince of Songkla University in Pattani, Thailand. Another issue of growing interest is the recycling of elastomers. Regarding the quantity of used tyres generated each year – worldwide 800,000,000 tyres – and the imminent scarcity of our natural resources, this material has to be considered as a secondary source of raw material.