Abstract
One of the most efficient ways to recycle elastomeric residues from industrial processes is to incorporate them into compositions. The study of these new compositions is interesting in terms of reducing cost, the consumption of raw materials, and the generation of new waste, working towards sustainable development. Thus, this research aimed to produce and characterize elastomeric blends containing one phase comprised of ethylene–propylene–diene monomer rubber (EPDM) industrial waste aged by the action of ultraviolet radiation (UV) in a UV chamber, and the other comprised of raw EPDM, containing different concentrations of residue. Therefore, the mechanical properties and the vulcanization characteristics of the blends containing different concentrations of EPDM residue—aged and un-aged—were analyzed and compared to the properties of a standard formulation (Control). The results showed that the aging of the waste for a period of 156 h did not trigger a severe degradation process. Additionally, its reuse into new compositions promoted improvements of the studied mechanical properties without compromising the vulcanization characteristics due to the higher molecular stiffness of the samples.
Highlights
The high production and consumption of polymeric materials in recent decades has raised questions about their final destination in the environment
This study aimed to analyze the influence of the exposure of vulcanized residues of ethylene–propylene–diene monomer rubber (EPDM), called EPDM-r, to accelerated aging by ultraviolet radiation (UV) in blends containing raw EPDM, in order to improve the compatibility between the phases
Blends containing one phase comprising industrial EPDM waste aged by the action of UV radiation in a UV chamber, and another phase comprising raw EPDM, were produced and characterized in terms of mechanical properties and vulcanization characteristics
Summary
The high production and consumption of polymeric materials in recent decades has raised questions about their final destination in the environment. Millions of tons of urban solid waste are inappropriately dumped every year in landfills and dumps, including polymeric materials. Concerns about the disposal of these materials are further intensified in regions where there are low tax incentives for the development of the recycling industry and in regions with precarious solid waste management systems [1,2,3,4]. A fairly well-studied way to recycle vulcanized elastomeric residues is the production of polymeric blends, which involves first milling them into a powder (in order to increase the surface area, and improve adhesion) [6,8,9,10]. In the case of industry-generated residues whose origin and formulation are known, their incorporation into raw elastomers is attractive in the development of compositions with technologically interesting properties, providing economic value to the company
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