Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) copolymer nanosized latex particles were synthesized via differential microemulsion polymerization (DMP) in a 300ml bench-scale semi-batch reactor, equipped with a thermocouple and a magnetic four-blade stirrer. This approach employed a continuous and slow addition of styrene and butadiene monomers drop-wise into a continuous aqueous phase comprising DI water, an initiator, a surfactant and a chain transfer agent. It was found that this approach offered an efficient heterogeneous phase path to synthesize styrene-butadiene copolymer latices with a high-butadiene-level of the resulting latex particles. The latex nanoparticles were formed as the SBR copolymer monomers undergo a self-assembly process in the continuous phase and were stabilized by their surrounding surfactant particles. The size of the latex particles could be easily adjusted by alternating the monomer addition speed, the reaction temperature, the amount of chain transfer agent applied and the type and the amount of surfactant introduced in the process. Not surprisingly, a small amount of chain transfer agent introduced into the DMP system might facilitate micellar nucleation and reduction of gel content in the polymer dramatically and may also aid increasing the size of the SBR latex particles. Owing to the small size of SBR latices prepared by the DMP method, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the latices is much lower than the SBR latices generated by conventional technique. Furthermore, the increase of Tg was observed with an increase of the SBR particle size.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-100). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Polymer Engineering, 2005. / "August, 2005." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 11/28/2005) Advisor, Lloyd Goettler; Faculty Reader, Avraam I. Isayev; Department Chair, Sadhan C. Jana; Dean of College, Frank N. Kelley; Dean of Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Typical rubber compounds used to manufacture industrial products such as tyres, hoses, conveyor belts, acoustics, shock pads, and engine mountings contain up to eight classes of chemical additives· including curing agents, accelerators, activators, processing aids, and antidegradants. The cure systems in these articles often consists of primary and secondary accelerators, primary and secondary activators, and elemental sulphur. Recent legislation impacting upon the working environment, safety and health has imposed a considerable burden on the manufacturers of rubber compounds to meet various obligations. The selection of raw materials and manufacturing processes that do not harm the environment is of great importance. A novel technique for preparing rubber formulations using crosslinking nanofillers such as silanised precipitated silica has been developed in this research. The silica surfaces were pre-treated with bis[3-triethoxysilylpropyl-] tetrasulphane coupling agent (TESPT).· TESPT is a sulphur containing bifunctional organosilane which chemically adheres silica to rubber and also prevents silica from interfering with the reaction mechanism of sulphur-cure systems. The tetrasulphane groups of the TESPT are rubber reactive and react in the presence of accelerator at elevated temperatures, i.e.140 -260°C, with or without elemental sulphur being present, to form crossIinks in rubbers containing chemically active double bonds for example styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene rubber (BR) .. SBR and BR rubber compounds containing 60 phr of TESPT pre-treated silica nanofiller were prepared. The silica particles were fully dispersed in the rubber, which was cured primarily by using sulphur in TESPT. The reaction between the tetrasulphane groups of TESPT and the rubbers was optimised by incorporating different accelerators and activators in the rubber. The mechanical properties of the rubber vulcanisates such as hardness, tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, stored' energy density at break, abrasion resistance, modulus and cyclic fatigue life were increased significantly when the treated silica filler was added. The need for the accelerator and activator was dependent on the composition of the rubber. Interestingly, the rubbers were fully cured without the use of elemental sulphur, secondary accelerator and secondary activator. As a result, a substantial reduction in the use of the curing chemicals was achieved without compromising the important properties of rubber compounds which are essential for maintaining long life and good performance of industrial rubber products in service. This approach has also helped to improve health and safety within the workplace and minimise harm to the enviromnent.Furthermore, a significant cost saving was achieved after reducing the number of curing chemicals in the rubber.

One of the current problems faced by mankind is the problem of safe disposal of waste rubber. Statistics show that the number of waste tires is continuously increasing at a very rapid rate. Since rubber materials do not decompose easily (due to their crosslinked structure), they end up being a serious ???environmental problem???. An intuitive solution to prevent the accumulation of the scrap tires is to continuously reuse them. A new patented reclamation method was discovered in our laboratory, which makes use of a twin screw extruder (TSE) in order to produce reclaimed rubber (referred as devulcanized rubber (DR) from here on) of very high quality. Also, this method has proven to be more economical than other commercial reclaiming methods. Products made solely from a reclaimed material face challenges from those made by virgin materials because of relatively poor properties. However, the striking advantage of using reclaimed rubbers is the cost reduction. Hence, it is important to work on establishing methods by which these reclaimed rubbers could be efficiently used and incorporated into present day products. The deterioration of properties could be minimized by blending them with varying amounts of other materials. A possibility in this direction is manufacturing of thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) using reclaimed rubber and general purpose thermoplastics. In accordance with this idea, the focus of this research is to prepare DR and polypropylene (PP) based TPVs. DR is unique as the rubber itself consists of two phases- one phase consisting of uncrosslinked (including devulcanized rubber molecules), and the other phase consisting of crosslinked (un-devulcanized) rubber. These un-devulcanized crumbs act as stress concentrators because they do not break-up easily, and lead to poor physical properties. Hence, this project tries to find out ways to increase the interfacial adhesion between the rubber and PP by using reactive and non-reactive techniques. Preliminary experiments were carried out in a batch mixer to compare DR and rubber crumb (CR). DR based TPVs showed better properties than CR based TPVs, however, the properties were not useful for commercial applications. Sulphur based dynamic vulcanization was studied in a batch mixer and found to be not effective in improving the properties of DR based blends. On the other hand, DCP/ sulphur based curing system was found to show significant improvement in properties. Therefore, DCP/sulphur based curing package was studied in detail on the blends consisting of DR and PP. The optimum ratio of DCP/sulphur was found to vary depending on the ratio of DR/PP. A hypothesis regarding the mechanism of DCP/sulphur curing has been proposed, which seem to correlate well with the experimental results observed. Additionally, it was determined that DR prepared from tire rubber (DRT) performed better than DR prepared from waste EPDM (DRE) for the curing system used. Accordingly, experiments on a TSE were carried out using DRT and a combination of compatibilizing resins and curatives. This combination showed a drastic improvement in blends properties and once again the optimum ratio of compatibilizing resins seemed to depend on the ratio of DRT/PP. As a result of the work, successful strategies based on reactive compatibilization techniques were developed in order to prepare useful TPVs having up to 70% DR. A series of compatibilization techniques has been evaluated using design of experiments and various characterization techniques such as mechanical tests, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis and crosslink density measurements. This led to the development of a formulation, which could improve the blend properties significantly. A tensile strength of around 10 MPa and an elongation-at-break of 150-180 % could be achieved for devulcanized rubber (70%) based TPVs, which has broadened the scope for its commercial applications. In addition to that, the process was established on a TSE that has enabled a continuous and steady production of these TPVs with reasonable throughputs.

No description available.

A reciclagem de materiais poliméricos tem sido objeto de estudos a fim de poupar recursos naturais, principalmente de fontes não renováveis, com objetivo de minimizar os impactos causados ao meio ambiente. Nesse cenário, aparecem os materiais elastoméricos, como a borracha, principalmente na utilizada da fabricação de pneus, uma vez que a indústria pneumática consome aproximadamente 60% da produção de borracha. Como a destinação final de forma ambientalmente correta do pneu é uma exigência devidamente amparada por normas e leis nacionais e internacionais, o objetivo desse trabalho é desenvolver um estudo sobre a eficácia das irradiações das micro-ondas no processo de desvulcanização do pó de pneu. Para esse estudo as amostras de pó de pneu foram submetidas a irradiações de micro-ondas, e posteriormente incorporadas às matrizes poliméricas de NR (borracha natural) e SBR (borracha de butadieno-estireno), e caracterizadas para verificação de suas propriedades. Para caracterização das amostras foram utilizados os seguintes ensaios: Espectroscopia no Infravermelho (FTIR), Dureza, Resistência à Tração e Alongamento, Reometria, Índice de Inchamento, Análise Termogravimétrica (TGA) e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV). Verificou-se viabilidade técnica da incorporação do pó de pneu nas matrizes de NR e SBR, uma vez que alguns resultados mostraram que a adição do pó de pneu irradiado via micro-ondas não ocasionou perdas significativas nas propriedades mecânicas e térmicas dos compostos. / The recycling of polymeric materials has been studied in order to save natural resources, mainly from non-renewable sources, in order to minimize the impacts caused to the environment. In this scenario, there are elastomeric materials, such as rubber, mainly used in tire manufacturing, since the pneumatic industry consumes approximately 60% of rubber production. As the final destination of an environmentally correct tire is a requirement, duly supported by national and international laws and regulations, the objective of this work is to develop a study on the efficiency of microwave irradiation in the process of tire powder devulcanization. For this study the tire powder samples were subjected to microwave irradiation, and later incorporated into the polymer matrices of NR (natural rubber) and SBR (butadiene-styrene rubber), and characterized for verification of their properties. For characterization of the samples the following tests were used: Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Hardness, Tensile Strength and Stretching, Rheometry, Swell Index, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (MEV). It was verified the technical feasibility of the incorporation of the tire powder in the NR and SBR matrices, since some results showed that the addition of the tire powder irradiated by microwave did not cause significant losses in the mechanical and thermal properties of the compounds.

O óleo extensor normalmente empregado em copolímeros à base de butadieno e estireno ( borracha SBR) da série 1712 é o extrato aromático (DAE). Nesta Dissertação, esse óleo foi substituído por óleos com baixos teores de policíclicos aromáticos em formulações de SBR. Esta substituição se deu em atendimento a Regulamentação REACH (EC No1907/2006 do Parlamento Europeu e do Conselho de 18 de Dezembro de 2006, Anexo XVII) que determina que a soma de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos individuais (PAHs) deve ser abaixo de 10 mg/kg e o teor de benzo(a)pireno (BaP) não deve exceder 1 mg/kg. Os óleos empregados foram o extrato aromático residual tratado (TRAE) e dois óleos naftênicos de fornecedores diferentes (HN1 e HN2). As composições de SBR estendidas em DAE, TRAE, HN1 e HN2 tiveram suas propriedades térmicas avaliadas por análise termogravimétrica (TG) e calorimetria diferencial de varredura (DSC). As propriedades físicas foram determinadas por ensaios de tração, dureza, resistência à abrasão e resiliência. Foram ainda avaliadas as propriedades reométricas e reológicas, por viscosidade e relaxação Mooney, respectivamente. Ao final os resultados demonstraram que é possível a substituição do óleo extensor por quaisquer dos óleos testados sem prejuízos nas propriedades estudadas / The extender oil usually employed in compositions of rubbers based on sytrene and butadiene (SBR) 1712 is the aromatic extract DAE. In this Dissertation, this oil was substituted by oils with low levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: the treated residual aromatic extract (TRAE) and two naphthenic oils from different suppliers (HN1 and HN2). This substitution was performed in response to REACH Regulation (EC No1907/2006 European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006, Annex XVII) which state that the sum of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) should be below 10 mg / kg and the levels of benzo (a) pyrene (BaP) should not exceed 1 mg / kg. SBR compositions extended with DAE, TRAE, HN1 and HN2 were characterized in terms of thermal properties by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), rheometric properties, physical properties (tension tests, hardness, abrasion resistance and resilience) and rheological (viscosity and Mooney relaxation). The final results showed that it is possible to replace the extender oil DAE for any of the tested oils without loss in the studied properties

O óleo extensor normalmente empregado em copolímeros à base de butadieno e estireno ( borracha SBR) da série 1712 é o extrato aromático (DAE). Nesta Dissertação, esse óleo foi substituído por óleos com baixos teores de policíclicos aromáticos em formulações de SBR. Esta substituição se deu em atendimento a Regulamentação REACH (EC No1907/2006 do Parlamento Europeu e do Conselho de 18 de Dezembro de 2006, Anexo XVII) que determina que a soma de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos individuais (PAHs) deve ser abaixo de 10 mg/kg e o teor de benzo(a)pireno (BaP) não deve exceder 1 mg/kg. Os óleos empregados foram o extrato aromático residual tratado (TRAE) e dois óleos naftênicos de fornecedores diferentes (HN1 e HN2). As composições de SBR estendidas em DAE, TRAE, HN1 e HN2 tiveram suas propriedades térmicas avaliadas por análise termogravimétrica (TG) e calorimetria diferencial de varredura (DSC). As propriedades físicas foram determinadas por ensaios de tração, dureza, resistência à abrasão e resiliência. Foram ainda avaliadas as propriedades reométricas e reológicas, por viscosidade e relaxação Mooney, respectivamente. Ao final os resultados demonstraram que é possível a substituição do óleo extensor por quaisquer dos óleos testados sem prejuízos nas propriedades estudadas / The extender oil usually employed in compositions of rubbers based on sytrene and butadiene (SBR) 1712 is the aromatic extract DAE. In this Dissertation, this oil was substituted by oils with low levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: the treated residual aromatic extract (TRAE) and two naphthenic oils from different suppliers (HN1 and HN2). This substitution was performed in response to REACH Regulation (EC No1907/2006 European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006, Annex XVII) which state that the sum of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) should be below 10 mg / kg and the levels of benzo (a) pyrene (BaP) should not exceed 1 mg / kg. SBR compositions extended with DAE, TRAE, HN1 and HN2 were characterized in terms of thermal properties by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), rheometric properties, physical properties (tension tests, hardness, abrasion resistance and resilience) and rheological (viscosity and Mooney relaxation). The final results showed that it is possible to replace the extender oil DAE for any of the tested oils without loss in the studied properties

No description available.