DEGRADATION OF NATURAL RUBBER INTO AROMATIC COMPOUNDS BY THE PYROLYSIS METHOD

This study aims to observe the mechanism of thermal cracking of natural rubber into aromatic compounds by the pyrolysis method. Variations used in this study were cracking temperatures between 300 – 400ºC with a range of 50ºC and reaction times between 15 – 90 minutes with a range of 15 minutes. The liquid volume obtained ranged from 32.4 – 119.3 mL, with the highest liquid volume obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 400°C with a pyrolysis time of 90 minutes. Natural rubber cracking begins with the polyisoprene chain-breaking reaction to form aromatic compounds, which are affected by temperature and processing time. The types of compounds contained in the liquid were observed by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). According to the results of the GC-MS analysis, Benzene aromatic compounds show a marked increase in yield with increasing temperature. In contrast, dipentene compounds experience a decrease in yield at high temperatures. This indicates a secondary reaction from dipentene to form the aromatic compound Benzene Toluene Xylene