Leather is a fibrous protein consisting of collagen in a three dimensionally crosslinked network. Chrome tanning of leather improves the appearance of leather but at the same time emits both solid and liquid chrome leather wastes. Scrap rubber recycling using untreated and neutralized leather fibrous particles in natural rubber has been studied. Vulcanization, mechanical, morphological and swelling properties of the natural rubber - scrap rubber composites containing neutralized leather have been discussed. Use of chrome leather particles has been found to improve the consumption of scrap rubber powder in natural rubber formulations. Polymer composites based on leather wastes as fillers are reported to be useful for many applications such as in construction materials, automobile interior moldings, heat and sound insulating boards, shoe soles, flooring materials and moldings with good anti-static properties, air permeability and good appearances
SynopsisSemi-interpenetrating polymer networks of cellulose nitrate and castor oil based polyurethanes have been prepared by using excess diisocyanate for the crosslinking process. Semi-IPNs with 30% cellulose nitrate showed some degree of miscibility. Enhanced miscibility was observed by the partial replacement of cellulose nitrate with poly (vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate). The ternary IPNs of poly (vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate), cellulose nitrate, and polyurethanes showed increased tensile strength and decreased flammability than those based on cellulose nitrate and polyurethanes alone.
EPDM rubber formulations filled with precipitated silica and cross-linked by peroxide vulcanization have been investigated with the objective of realizing better processing characteristics and vulcanizate properties. Dispersion of silica in EPDM rubber in the presence of conventional coupling agents and in the presence of an epoxy resin has been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). AFM results of EPDM rubber compounds containing silica fillers in the presence of the epoxy resin have exhibited improved silica dispersion in terms of scanned height. The latter has been found to be in the range of 0–100 nm for EPDM rubber—silica systems with epoxy resin, while in the absence of the resin, scanned height has been found to be in the range of 0–700 nm. The significant reduction in scanned height in the presence of epoxy resin has been attributed to the reduction in surface roughness which is an indication for good dispersion of silica in the rubber. Morphological studies using SEM, mechanical properties, and Mooney-Rivlin constants all have shown significant improvement in performance properties of EPDM rubber—silica compounds containing epoxy resin and vulcanized with dicumyl peroxide.
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