Innovative approaches to thermochemical devulcanization of carbon black-filled SBR

Abstract

This investigation fully studied optimizing the thermochemical desulfurization process for carbon black-filled styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) by examining the carbon black type effect and the loading amount on desulfurization performance. The analysis of devulcanization process efficiency required the Horikx-Verbruggen method to evaluate sol fraction and crosslink density relationships. When higher amounts of carbon black are present, the speed of crosslinking interactions increases. An increase in crosslinking rate reached 170% for carbon black N-330, while carbon black N-550 showed an 87% increase in such rates. The size of carbon black particles N-330 and N-550 does not impact the desulfurization performance results. The researchers optimized desulfurization procedures using temperature and time variations as critical variables. The study results indicate that reduced desulfurization temperature combined with shorter periods helps minimize crosslinking formation, improving desulfurization results. The aggregation behavior of the system becomes more pronounced when high-temperature conditions prevail, thus it impacts the operation’s outcome. The analysis demonstrates the necessity to match devulcanization approaches with rubber compound characteristics for enhanced product properties and extended life span in rubber applications.