Preparation and Characterization of Eco-Friendly Spent Coffee/ENR50 Biocomposite in Comparison to Carbon Black

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of spent coffee biochar (Biochar) compared to carbon black (CB) as a partial replacement for carbon black in epoxidized natural rubber (ENR). Particle size and elemental analysis were used to characterize the biochar and CB. Cure characteristics, tensile, thermal, and morphological properties on the effect of biochar and CB as filler were studied. It was found that incorporating 10 phr of spent coffee biochar could improve the composites’ tensile properties and thermal performance compared to carbon black. However, the addition of biochar significantly affects the maximum torque compared to CB and delays the vulcanization time. SEM study shows that biochar has a strong effect on the morphology of composite films. The FTIR graph reveals no substantial difference between compounds with biochar and CB. According to the thermal calorimetric study, the thermal stability of ENR-Biochar is higher than that of ENR-CB. Additionally, these findings suggest that the utilization of spent coffee as a sustainable biochar could be further explored, but little has been done in epoxidized natural rubber (ENR).

Structure, morphology, thermal, and sorption characteristics of epoxidized natural rubber conjugated spent coffee via one‐pot synthesis

“…With an increase in the proportion of spent coffee, the molecular chains of ENR will tweak the accumulated spent coffee into a closely packed form. The spent coffee that has been closely packed arrangement in the cavities of the ENR contributes to the diffraction patterns 15 …”

“…The spent coffee F I G U R E 3 XRD patterns of the prepared epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 30) and the prepared epoxidized natural rubber conjugated spent coffee biocomposites (ENR-g-SC) in 5, 10, and 20 phr that has been closely packed arrangement in the cavities of the ENR contributes to the diffraction patterns. 15…”

“…In the literature, several published studies focus on recycling or reusing SCG to decrease its environmental impacts, such as using SCG as fuel pellets, animal feed, and raw materials to produce biodiesel, ethanol, and organic compost, activated carbon, and natural antioxidants extract. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The use of environmentally friendly fillers such as spent coffee as part of polymeric composites is of great interest. From this point of view, the use of spent coffee grounds (SCG) as an eco-filler in the epoxide natural rubber has recently been studied to develop a one-pot reaction synthesis for the preparation of masterbatch.…”

“…Ideas on exploiting this residue and other renewable sources must be welcomed as a step toward a more sustainable future. In the literature, several published studies focus on recycling or reusing SCG to decrease its environmental impacts, such as using SCG as fuel pellets, animal feed, and raw materials to produce biodiesel, ethanol, and organic compost, activated carbon, and natural antioxidants extract 8–15 . The use of environmentally friendly fillers such as spent coffee as part of polymeric composites is of great interest.…”

Natural Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic ENR/PVC Composites as Potential Membrane Technology in Industrial Wastewater Treatment: A Review

“…The addition of fillers to the ENR chain can also improve its mechanical properties. Today, among the fillers often used in industry are carbon black (CB) [159,160], calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) [161,162], and silica (SiO 2 ) [163][164][165][166]. A study conducted by Kim and Eom [167] has proved that there is a bond between ENR with silica from rice husk (RH) flour that has high thermal stability when mixed.…”