Challenges in the Use of Recycled Rubber in Automotive Applications

Rubber recycling methods have recently become more efficient and have resulted in a more consistent product in terms of active surface area and particle size. Use of recycled rubber material, whether it is recycled rubber or recycled carbon black, has gained market use in applications such as athletic fields, asphalt and shoe sole materials and in automotive applications such as seat foams and mirror housings. However, use of recycled rubber into traditional automotive rubber parts has been hindered by both the performance tradeoffs in using recycled rubber material in dynamic part applications and the economic difficulties of utilizing recycled rubber materials in low cost part applications. The paper will review the performance of model natural rubber and EPDM compounds containing recycled rubber materials and discuss how the pros and cons of incorporating recycled rubber materials into different categories of rubber automotive parts.