Thermoplastic Elastomers From Small Particle Size Recycled Rubber

Thermoset rubbers are more difficult to recycle as compared to thermoplastic elastomers.  Recycling methods include tire derived fuel, civil engineering applications, and blends with plastics.  Crumb rubber powder is an attractive method for recycling.  The ground scrap rubber can be used in asphalt or blended with plastics to create rubber toughened products or thermoplastic elastomers.  The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of under 100 micron size cryogenically ground scrap rubber on the properties at different loading levels.  The effect of compatibilization was also investigated.  Compounds were mixed using a twin screw extruder and injection molded into test specimens. The mechanical properties (tensile and impact) and thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry were studied for the various loading levels and compatiblization technique.