Microwave Devulcanization of Waste Rubber with Inorganic Salts and Nitric Acid

Abstract

Rubber wastes cause severe damages for the environment when unsuitably disposed in the environment and represent a challenger for mechanical recycling, because the vulcanized rubber is formed by a tridimensional network with intermolecular sulfur crosslinks. Microwave radiation can lead to the breaking of sulfur crosslinks and so enable the recycling of vulcanized rubbers. The aim of this work was to study the SBR devulcanization by microwave using inorganic salts and nitric acid. Soxhlet extraction and FTIR analyzes were carried out to evaluate the devulcanization degree and chemical modifications in the rubber structure. The results showed that the presence of carbon black in the rubber is an important factor for devulcanization and some metallic ions decrease the sulfur crosslink content. On the other hand, these ions promote the oxidation in the rubber.