Abstract
The utilization of post-consumer car tires is an essential issue from an ecological and economic point of view. One of the simplest and the least harmful methods is their material recycling resulting in ground tire rubber (GTR), which can be further applied as fillers for polymer-based composites. Nevertheless, insufficient interfacial interactions implicate the necessity of GTR modification before introduction into polymer matrices. In this study, we investigated the influence of rapeseed oil-assisted thermo-mechanical treatment of GTR using a reactive extrusion process on the processing, structure, and performance of flexible polyurethane/GTR composite foams. Applied modifications affected the processing of polyurethane systems. They caused a noticeable reduction in the average cell size of foams, which was attributed to the potential nucleating activity of solid particles and changes in surface tension caused by the presence of oil. Such an effect was especially pronounced for the waste rapeseed oil, which resulted in the highest content of closed cells. Structural changes caused by GTR modification implicated the enhancement of foams’ strength. Mechanical performance was significantly affected by the applied modifications due to the changes in glass transition temperature. Moreover, the incorporation of waste GTR particles into the polyurethane matrix noticeably improved its thermal stability.
Highlights
Accepted: 19 March 2021Ground tire rubber (GTR) is a waste material generated currently in enormous amounts during material recycling of post-consumer car tires
We aimed to investigate the impact of the rapeseed oil-assisted thermo-mechanical treatment of ground tire rubber (GTR) using the reactive extrusion process on the processing, structure, and performance of flexible foamed polyurethane-based composites
It was mostly attributed to the increased viscosity of the polyol mixture, which was caused by the introduction of solid particles and mostly non-reactive rapeseed oil
Summary
Accepted: 19 March 2021Ground tire rubber (GTR) is a waste material generated currently in enormous amounts during material recycling of post-consumer car tires. Literature works analyzed the application of GTR in the manufacturing of acoustic insulation [1], damping layers [2], asphalts [3], highway embankments [4], or concretes [5]. This material can be applied in steelmaking. The researchers conclude that hydrogen is introduced by rubber-based waste. This element’s reactions promote faster coal gasification (faster reduction of iron oxide in coke) [7]. Ground tire rubber can be applied as fuel during heat generation because of the relatively high calorific value (33–35 MJ/kg)
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