An overview on waste rubber recycling by microwave devulcanization

Zhang, Tao; Asaro, Lucia; Gratton, Michel; Aït Hocine, Nourredine

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120122

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Polymeric composites, particularly those involving elastomers, play a pivotal role in various industries due to their unique properties and versatility. Elastomeric composites show enhanced inherent qualities compared to their non-reinforced counterparts, providing improved mechanical strength, durability, and resistance to wear and tear [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. These composites find extensive applications in automotive components, aerospace technology, construction materials, and consumer goods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Impact of Reinforcing Filler Systems on Devulcanizate Composites

Ghosh,

Mani,

Krafczyk

et al. 2024

Polymers

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Composites revolutionize material performance, fostering innovation and efficiency in diverse sectors. Elastomer-based polymeric composites are crucial for applications requiring superior mechanical strength and durability. Widely applied in automotives, aerospace, construction, and consumer goods, they excel under extreme conditions. Composites based on recycled rubber, fortified with reinforcing fillers, represent a sustainable material innovation by repurposing discarded rubber. The integration of reinforcing agents enhances the strength and resilience of this composite, and the recycled polymeric matrix offers an eco-friendly alternative to virgin elastomers, reducing their environmental impact. Devulcanized rubber, with inherently lower mechanical properties than virgin rubber, requires enhancement of its quality for reuse in a circular economy: considerable amounts of recycled tire rubber can only be applied in new tires if the property profile comes close to the one of the virgin rubber. To achieve this, model passenger car tire and whole tire rubber granulates were transformed into elastomeric composites through optimized devulcanization and blending with additional fillers like carbon black and silica–silane. These fillers were chosen as they are commonly used in tire compounding, but they lose their reactivity during their service life and the devulcanization process. Incorporation of 20% (w/w) additional filler enhanced the strength of the devulcanizate composites by up to 15%. Additionally, increased silane concentration significantly further improved the tensile strength, Payne effect, and dispersion by enhancing the polymer–filler interaction through improved silanization. Higher silane concentrations reduced elongation at break and increased crosslink density, as it leads to a stable filler–polymer network. The optimal concentration of a silica–silane filler system for a devulcanizate was found to be 20% silica with 3% silane, showing the best property profile.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Impact of Reinforcing Filler Systems on Devulcanizate Composites

Ghosh,

Mani,

Krafczyk

et al. 2024

Polymers

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Sustainable thermoplastic elastomers based on thermoplastic polyurethane and ground tire rubber

Kohári,

Bárány

2024

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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In this research, blends are prepared of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ground tire rubber (GTR) and its devulcanized version (dGTR). The primary objective is to produce thermoplastic elastomers wherein TPU is partially substituted by GTR or dGTR obtained from used tires, thereby forming a blend with a favorable cost/value ratio and a smaller environmental footprint. Throughout the experiment, the rubber content of the blends is varied between 0 and 50 wt% and the effect on mechanical properties is investigated. The blends are compounded with a twin‐screw extruder, after which sheet samples are produced by injection molding. With a view to a possible future industrial application, it is important that both the compounding and the injection molding of the specimens are easy to perform, even with a 50 wt% filler content. Increasing the amount of rubber phase reduce the tensile strength and elongation at break of the blends. Unfortunately, devulcanization did not significantly improve the properties of the blends. Overall, even at a (d)GTR content of 50 wt%, an elongation at break of 300% is achieved, which allows the use of the blends as thermoplastic elastomers. In addition, dynamic tests show that the rubber phase increases the damping capacity of the samples.

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