Innovative methods lined up for qualification of waste elastomer fillers

Abstract

In the present paper the impacts of particle size of different waste elastomer fillers and homogenization time with the polymer matrix have been studied. Oscillatory rheometric tests have been conducted on EPDM-containing polyethylene, iGC measurements and SEM images have been investigated to understand the phenomena behind the mechanical properties. One of the practically useful outcomes have been the extension of LVE range of blends with the whole fraction of EPDM particles (0.00–1.25 mm) compared to larger particle domains, such as 0.40–0.63 mm; 0.63–1.00 mm and 1.00–1.25 mm; since the smaller particles increase the interfacial area favourable for stress transfer. The most influenced mechanical property was the elongation at break followed by the impact strength in w-EPDM blends but no other statistical correlation between the particle size distribution and the sample preparation method and the measured mechanical properties has been found for the other type filler containing blends. A relationship between the crossover frequency, i.e., ‘apparent molecular weight’ and homogeneity of the dispersion of waste EPDM particles containing polymers has been found and confirmed by the mechanical properties either. The relative apparent molecular weight, expressed in rad/s, determined from the intersection of G′ and G″ obtained through frequency sweep tests can be used to quantify the homogeneity related to the dispersion of polymer/waste elastomer blends with the same composition but different particle sizes.