High‐value application of glass beads/porous carbon obtained from coal gasification fine slag as alternative for carbon black in natural rubber composite

Abstract

AbstractCoal gasification slag is a by‐product of entrained‐flow coal gasification, and the improper disposal of the slag causes environmental pollution. Coal gasification fine slag (CGFS) filtered cakes were treated in a spin flash dryer. The CGFS products with different particle sizes (coarse particles (CGFS‐C) and fine particles (CGFS‐F)), loss on ignition (unburned carbon), and silica content were obtained. Morphology analysis revealed that the CGFS‐F particles had a hybrid structure of unburned carbon embedded by glass beads and a higher structural degree of the unburned carbon. The effects of carbon black (CB), CGFS‐C, and CGFS‐F on the comprehensive properties of filled natural rubber (NR) were studied. Compared with CB, CGFS‐F had little effect on the cure characteristics of NR and delayed the scorching. The CB dispersion status and rubber processing analysis showed that the hybrid structure of the CGFS‐F can prompt the fillers to disperse well in NR. Owing to the hybrid structure and higher structural degree, the overall properties of the NR composites filled with CGFS‐F having a yield of 39.46 wt.% were better compared to those of the CB‐filled NR composite. In summary, CGFS‐F particles can replace CB (N660) used in NR products.