Recycling of fluoro-carbon-elastomers – A review

Abstract

This review provides an overview of recycling methods for fluoro-elastomers (FKM) being a very expensive material with excellent properties. However, these properties are based on strong chemical bonds which have to be overcome, but overcome with care to avoid deterioration of the entire polymer. Thus, only two methods could be identified to perform in an industrially acceptable way. The deposition of fine milled fluoro-rubber powder in virgin rubber and the mechanical devulcanization of FKM and successive compounding with virgin rubber have proven to be viable recycling methods providing good thermal stability by maintaining the mechanical properties of original FKM.