Characterization of recycled nitrile butadiene rubber industrial scraps

Abstract

AbstractThe amount of rubber scraps derived from rubber goods production consists of about 20–30% of the processed material, so it is necessary to enhance this material by developing new recycling techniques as well as a new market for recycled rubber products. In the present research, nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) scraps are reprocessed via a calendering process acting with a mechanical devulcanization. Compounds were prepared with 20%, 80%, and 100% recycled rubber content and characterized. The experimental results highlighted that the compound prepared with 20% recycled rubber content via calendering and compression molding processes shows comparable mechanical properties to that of virgin NBR. The tensile properties are the most penalized by the increasing content of recycled material (100% recycled shows − 25% and − 50% stress and strain at break, respectively). Other properties remain comparable to the standard material up to 80% recycled material: 60 ± 5 Shore A, compression elastic modulus 8 MPa, compression set 20%. FTIR analysis revealed no changes in chemical structure from the recycling process. The results demonstrate that simple mechanical devulcanization can effectively reprocess industrial rubber waste while largely maintaining useful properties. This provides a potential pathway to enhance sustainability in rubber production through the valorization of process scraps. Graphical Abstract