Recycling waste nitrile rubber (NBR) and improving mechanical properties of Re-vulcanized rubber by an efficient chemo-mechanical devulcanization

Waste rubbers are environmental pollutants that could not be easily recycled. Devulcanization (i.e. as a reverse process of rubber vulcanization) is considered as a promising method for recycling of rubber wastes. In this study, a simple and effective chemo-mechanical devulcanization for waste nitrile rubber (WNBR) was introduced and compared to the mechanical, thermo-chemo-mechanical and radio-chemo-mechanical methods. The mechanical stress was applied to crumbed waste rubbers using a two roll mill in presence of different chemical agents (i.e. N-cyclohexyl-2- benzothiazole sulfonamide (CBS), tetra methyl thiuram disulfide (TMTD), diphenyl disulfide (DPDS), VitaX and a mixture of VitaX and DPDS). The sheet formation time on two roll mill, crosslink density (CLD) and sol/gel contents of waste rubber powders were measured before and after devulcanization. The devulcanized rubbers were characterized using TGA, DSC and GPC analysis. Finally, the properties of devulcanized nitrile rubber (i.e. the tensile, hardness and curing properties) were evaluated and compared to pristine NBR. It was found that VitaX is the most efficient chemical agent among the chemical agents. It caused 43, 87 and 98% decrement in the sheet formation time of chemo-mechanically, thermo-chemo-mechanically and radio-chemo-mechanically devulcanized samples compared to the mechanically devulcanized NBR, respectively. The samples also showed 24, 33 and 100% increment in the sol content, devulcanization percent and tensile strength compared to the mechanically devulcanized NBR, respectively. [Display omitted] •Waste NBR was devulcanized by mechanical/thermomechanical/radio-thermomechanical methods.•Effect of different chemical agents on the mechanical devulcanization was compared.•The devulcanization properties of chemo-mechanically devulcanized samples were evaluated.•The tensile property and hardness of the re-vulcanized samples were compared.•DSC and GPC analysis were performed as more accurate characterizations on devulcanized samples.