Cost-Effective and Environmentally Friendly Flexible Magnetic EPDM rubber Composites Based on Ground Waste Tires (GRW) and Waste Iron Powder

Abstract

Abstract One of the main issues facing environmental and human health protection is managing and further use of waste tires. Upcycling is a successful recycling strategy that aims to incorporate shredded discarded tires into polymer blends to create products with added value for different uses. Two-roll mill laboratories mixer were used to prepare low-cost, flexible magnetic composites based on an EPDM rubber/ground waste tyres (GRW) blend as a host matrix and waste iron powders (WIP) as dispersed filler. Tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness (shore A) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to evaluate the physico-mechanical properties of the produced blends. The thermal properties of the produced blends were also tested using thermo gravimetric analysis, and the morphology of the blends was observed using a scan electron microscope. The electrical and magnetic properties of the mixtures were also tested. The elemental analysis of the WIP sample showed that it contains about 2.19% SiO2, 76.57% Fe2O3 and 21.24% O2, respectively. Mainly, the investigated mechanical parameters (elongation at break & hardness) increased with increasing the WIP content. A notable decrease of tensile strength upon reaching 50phr WIP is noticed. Enhancement in the thermal stability of EPDM/WIP composites is noticed by increasing WIP content. SEM micrographs detect agglomerates at higher WIP content, resulting in mechanical properties' failure. Moreover, the values ε'& ε' improved by rising WIP content. Also, the electrical conductivity "σ" reaches 10− 4 S/cm for 60 phr WIP. Further, the EPDM/WIP composites may be appropriate for creating soft magnetic materials, which have several applications.