A comparative study of natural rubber modified with ground tire rubber of truck

Abstract

The recycling of waste rubber has considerable significance in term of environmental protection and energy conservation. Considering that most of the relevant literature is concerned with tire recycling, the aim of this work was to develop and characterize the elastomeric samples of natural rubber (NR) composites filled with ground tire rubber of truck (GTR) devulcanized by microwave (DGTR). The tire rubber was ground under ambient conditions and subjected to microwave exposure for 3, 5 and 10 minutes. The samples were developed by the incorporation of 10, 30 and 50 phr (parts per hundred of rubber) of the devulcanized GTR-t into the rubber matrix and subsequent revulcanization. The physical mechanical properties: tensile strength, elongation at break, shore A hardness and modulus were determined. The changes in the chemical characteristics were evaluated with cross-link density, sol fraction and Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analyses. In addition, the samples have been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results were compared with an unfilled sample of NR submitted to the same conditions