Abstract
This work describes the devulcanization of ground tire rubber (GTR) with particle sizes ranging from 0.6 to 0.122 mm using a non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible deep eutectic solvent (DES) based on choline chloride and urea. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of the process, other goals of this study were to minimize time and energy consumption. To meet these targets, a new de-vulcanization method has been developed. The methodology consists of using probe and bath sonication. The de-vulcanized rubber samples were then characterized using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Flory-Rehner and Horikx analyses were also carried out to calculate the devulcanization percentage and investigate the successful devulcanization of the samples through selective crosslink scission. The results showed that rubber samples of 120 mesh (0.122 mm) were devulcanized up to 58% by using 182 W power only during a 30 minutes process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2295-2311 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | RSC Sustainability |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Early online date | 24 Jun 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2024 |
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Funding
The GREEN-LOOP project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe, grant number 101057765. This includes funds from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK Government's Horizon Europe funding guarantee, grant number 10038028. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Hesam Ramezani also acknowledges the support of the Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials (BCFN) of the University of Bristol.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| University of Bristol | |
| UK Research and Innovation | |
| European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program | 101057765 |
| UK Government's Horizon Europe funding guarantee | 10038028 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry (miscellaneous)
- Analytical Chemistry
- Electrochemistry
- Organic Chemistry
