Studying the pulverization mechanism of rubber with a modified design of the solid‐state shear extrusion process

Abstract

AbstractWaste rubber cannot be reprocessed by melting because of its three‐dimensionally crosslinked molecular structure. Mechanical size reduction is the most common method for recycling and reusing waste rubber. The modified solid‐state shear extrusion (SSSE) process developed at the Illinois Institute of Technology was used for mechanical size reduction of rubber in a continuous process. In this work, an extended screw was used in conjunction with the original design of the SSSE apparatus to achieve greater rubber pulverization with a higher throughput rate and lower power consumption. The operating conditions of the modified SSSE apparatus were optimized to produce finer rubber particles that could be further used in a wide variety of applications. Controlling the residence time of rubber particles inside the pulverization section was crucial for producing a fine powder without agglomeration. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011