Work

The Taste of Waste: The Edge of Eggshell Over Calcium Carbonate in Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Rubber technology experiences a new age by the use of biowaste or natural fillers. In this regard, taking properties of reinforcing agents from biowaste fillers remains as the challenging matter. Chicken eggshell (ES) biowaste has recently been introduced to substitute calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) duo to its superior properties and low price. In this work, composites based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) reinforced with ES and CaCO 3 microfillers at various loading levels were prepared and characterized. To improve the interactions between fillers and the NBR matrix, ES and CaCO 3 were surface-functionalized using a terpolymer, namely poly(vinyl 2-pyrrolidone- co -maleic acid- co -acrylic acid). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the modified fillers. The incorporation of the functionalized fillers resulted in a significant rise in the maximum torque according to the rheometric measurements. The Young’s modulus of the ES-based and CaCO 3 -based compounds showed a mild improvement over a wide range of filler contents. The elongation at break of the NBR composites, however, was dependent on the filler content. This work provides exciting opportunities for the design of novel and innovative coupling agents to be used in rubber applications.

Source: Journal of Polymers and the Environment

DOI: 10.1007/s10924-019-01530-y