Revitalizing Used Automotive Rubber: Silicone Rubber Composites

废旧汽车橡胶的复兴：硅橡胶复合材料

• 批准号: 570987-2022
• 负责人: Brook, MichaelMA
• 金额: $ 9.11万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Idea to Innovation
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=748222
• 关键词: Revitalizing; Used; Automotive; Rubber; Silicone

Scientists increasingly have an obligation to develop sustainable processes. After only a few years use, otherwise high value, resilient automotive tire rubber is typically burned, pyrolyzed to low value products, partly devulcanized, or converted to crumb; the process of taking non-renewable petroleum and using it once, or a second time in low value products, is not sustainable. Silicone polymers are sought after in many markets because of their attractive properties, including adhesion to glass, and metal surfaces, flexibility/stability to temperature fluctuations, and degradability in the environment; these are not met by organic alternatives. We have discovered a route to activate the surface of rubber crumb recovered from automobile tires to permit it to be incorporated in silicone elastomers to make high value composites. The cost of the composite is much lower than normal silicones, the elastomers exhibit enhanced reinforcement and, at end of life, the composite is readily recycled to silicones and recovered crumb that can be incorporated in new composites.This grant will determine the type and quantity of inexpensive rubber crumb that can be used to reinforce silicone elastomers to enable the development of large scale production that can be targeted to appropriate markets. Formulation objectives include: 1) control of the crumb surface, with different silicone precursors provided by our supporting organization Siltech, 2) selection of appropriate silicone cure technologies giving elastomers that can be utilized, for example, in products like mountain bike parts and commercial sealants (e.g., construction glazing), and 3) quantification of the process variables for composite creation, and correlating formulation to resulting physical properties.In these applications the low cost and high performance of silicone composites that contain the rubber crumb enables facile entry into existing markets. The complete recyclability of the composites will be demonstrated to permit a high sustainability score for the product. The rubber-in-silicone composite, based on Canadian IP, will allow Canadian companies (silicone/tire recycling) to enter new markets.

科学家越来越有义务开发可持续的工艺。仅使用几年后，原本高价值的弹性汽车轮胎橡胶通常会被燃烧、热解成低价值产品、部分脱硫或转化为碎屑；获取不可再生石油并在低价值产品中使用一次或第二次的过程是不可持续的。有机硅聚合物因其具有吸引力的特性而在许多市场受到追捧，包括对玻璃和金属表面的粘附性、对温度波动的灵活性/稳定性以及在环境中的可降解性；有机替代品无法满足这些要求。我们发现了一种激活从汽车轮胎中回收的橡胶碎屑表面的方法，使其能够融入有机硅弹性体中，从而制造出高价值的复合材料。该复合材料的成本比普通有机硅低得多，弹性体表现出增强的增强作用，并且在使用寿命结束时，该复合材料很容易回收为有机硅和回收的碎屑，可合并到新的复合材料中。这笔赠款将确定类型和数量廉价的橡胶碎屑可用于增强有机硅弹性体，从而能够开发针对适当市场的大规模生产。配方目标包括：1) 使用我们的支持组织 Siltech 提供的不同有机硅前体控制碎屑表面，2) 选择适当的有机硅固化技术，提供可用于山地自行车零件和商业密封剂等产品的弹性体（例如，建筑玻璃），以及 3) 复合材料制造过程变量的量化，以及将配方与最终物理性能相关联。在这些应用中，含有橡胶碎屑的有机硅复合材料的低成本和高性能使得轻松进入现有市场。将证明复合材料的完全可回收性，以使产品获得高可持续性评分。基于加拿大知识产权的硅橡胶复合材料将使加拿大公司（硅橡胶/轮胎回收）进入新市场。