This study aims to describe the current problems of the end-of-life tyre system, and propose possible end-of-life tyre management program for Thailand based on cost and environmental perspectives. This study can showcase the process for countries where end-of-life tyre management has not yet been implemented or countries that are facing problems with their end-of-life tyre management systems. Research findings indicate that, without an end-of-life tyre program through which customers would be charged a treatment fee, it is not feasible for tyre collectors to collect the used tyres that are discarded more than 150 km from a recycling plant. To increase the end-of-life tyre treatment percentage, a treatment fee must be collected, and the free market system should be used. Subsidy settings, estimated at approximately 20 baht/new tyre or $0.6/new tyre for the collection, processing and use of scrap tyres, should be configured to ameliorate the overall process. Keywords: end-of-life tyre management; life-cycle costs of end-of-life tyre; used tyre management policy; used tyre recycling. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Mangmeechai, A. (2017) 'Moving towards sustainable end-of-life tyre management from the cost and environmental perspectives: a case study of Thailand', Int.
Natural rubber is the most common material for dynamic applications. Its limited service temperature leads to search alternative elastomeric materials for related areas. In this study, natural rubber, traditional ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), and a new grade EPDM with modified structural properties have been evaluated by means of tensile properties, characteristic temperatures, cross‐link density, isothermal and nonisothermal relaxation behaviors with temperature scanning stress relaxation (TSSR) method. Linear molecular structure of the alternative EPDM elastomers provided improved tensile strength and isothermal stress relaxation behavior. Small amount of process oil addition also improved their service temperatures due to better processing conditions. Annealing study showed that strain‐induced crystallization is one of the important factors controlling service conditions of EPDM. Besides, TSSR technique was concluded to be a fast and powerful technique for measuring cross‐link density and for predicting service temperatures of natural rubber and EPDM elastomers.
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