Clarification of rubber mill wastewater by a plant based biopolymer- comparison with common inorganic coagulants

Background: In this study, the efficiency of Guar gum as a biopolymer has been compared with two other widely used inorganic coagulants, ferric chloride (FeCl3) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3), for the treatment of effluent collected from the rubber-washing tanks of a rubber concentrate factory. Settling velocity distribution curves were plotted to demonstrate the flocculating effect of FeCl3, AlCl3 and Guar gum. FeCl3 and AlCl3 displayed better turbidity removal than Guar gum at all settling velocities.

Result: FeCl3, AlCl3 and Guar gum removed 92.8%, 88.2% and 88.1% turbidity, respectively, of raw wastewater at a settling velocity of 0.1 cm min-1, respectively. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study conducted on the flocs revealed that Guar gum and FeCl3produced strong intercoiled honeycomb patterned floc structure capable of entrapping suspended particulate matter. Statistical experimental design Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to design all experiments, where the type and dosage of flocculant, pH and mixing speed were taken as control factors and, an optimum operational setting was proposed.

Conclusion: Due to biodegradability issues, the use of Guar gum as a flocculating agent for wastewater treatment in industry is highly recommended.

The ageing behaviour of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber/nanoclay nanocomposites in various mediums

Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) nanocomposites were prepared using commercially available organoclays (Cloisite 15A). The main focus of the current investigation is to study the influence of the organoclay reinforced in HNBR after subjecting it to long-term oxidative ageing and immersion studies. All the different nanoclay nanocomposites were air aged for a period of 168 h and at 150°C. The changes in the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and elongation at break have been compared with respect to the control sample. For immersion tests, three different liquid mediums were considered for this current investigation. All the samples were immersed in different mediums for a period of 168 h at 150°C. The changes in the swelling index and the mechanical properties have been reported with respect to the control sample. After reinforcing nanoclays into HNBR there was good resistance to swelling in all the three different liquid mediums in comparison to control sample. Tensile testing was performed on the immersed nanocomposites to evaluate the mechanical behaviour after immersion studies. A probable mechanism behind the improved performance has been suggested. © The Author(s) 2012.

Influence of nanoclays on mechanical and barrier properties of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber nanocomposites

In this research, two different methods have been investigated for optimising the preparation of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/clay nanocomposites. Commercially available organoclay (Cloisite 20A) has been considered for the preparation of rubber nanocomposites. A detailed analysis has been made to investigate the morphological structure and mechanical behaviour at room temperature and at elevated temperature. Also the influence of organoclays on permeability has been studied. Structural analysis indicates very good dispersion for a low loading of 5 parts per hundred (phr) amount of nanoclays. Significant improvements in mechanical properties have been observed with the addition of organoclays at both room and elevated temperatures. Even with the low level of addition of nanoclays, there was a remarkable reduction in permeability. © Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining 2011.

Design of an automated solar concentrator for the pyrolysis of scrap rubber

An automated solar reactor system was designed and built to carry out catalytic pyrolysis of scrap rubber tires at 550°C. To maximize solar energy concentration, a two degrees-of-freedom automated sun tracking system was developed and implemented. Both the azimuth and zenith angles were controlled via feedback from six photo-resistors positioned on a Fresnel lens. The pyrolysis of rubber tires was tested with the presence of two types of acidic catalysts, H-beta and H-USY. Additionally, a photoactive TiO<inf>2</inf> catalyst was used and the products were compared in terms of gas yields and composition. The catalysts were characterized by BET analysis and the pyrolysis gases and liquids were analyzed using GC-MS. The oil and gas yields were relatively high with the highest gas yield reaching 32.8% with H-beta catalyst while TiO<inf>2</inf> gave the same results as thermal pyrolysis without any catalyst. In the presence of zeolites, the dominant gasoline-like components in the gas were propene and cyclobutene. The TiO<inf>2</inf> and non-catalytic experiments produced a gas containing gasoline-like products of mainly isoprene (76.4% and 88.4% respectively). As for the liquids they were composed of numerous components spread over a wide distribution of C<inf>10</inf> to C<inf>29</inf> hydrocarbons of naphthalene and cyclohexane/ene derivatives.

Control of wild rubber extraction in the forests of northeast India, 1850-1880

This paper uses the history of rubber extraction to explore competing attempts to control the forest environments of Assam and beyond in the second half of the nineteenth century. Forest communities faced rival efforts at environmental control from both European and Indian traders, as well as from various centres of authority within the Raj. Government attempts to regulate rubber collection were undermined by the weak authority of the Raj in these regions, leading to widespread smuggling. Partly in response to the disruptive influence of rubber traders on the frontier, the Raj began to restrict the presence of outsiders in tribal regions, which came to be understood as distinct areas outside British control. When rubber yields from the forests nearest the Brahmaputra fell in the wake of intensive exploitation, India's scientific foresters demanded and from 1870 obtained the ability to regulate the Assamese forests, blaming indigenous rubber tapping strategies for the declining yields and arguing that Indian rubber could be ‘equal [to] if not better' than Amazonian rubber if only tappers would change their practices. The knowledge of the scientific foresters was fundamentally flawed, however, and their efforts to establish a new type of tapping practice failed. By 1880, the government had largely abandoned attempts to regulate wild Indian rubber, though wild sources continued to dominate the supply of global rubber until after 1910.

Formulation of emulsion systems for the preparation of butyl rubber gloves

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Studies on Rubber Composition as Passive Acoustic Materials in Underwater Electro Acoustic Tranducer Technology and Their aging Characteristic

The research work has been in the area of compounding and characterization of rubbers for use in under water electro acoustic transducers. The study also covers specific material system such as encapsulation materials, baffle material, seal material, etc. Life prediction techniques of under water rubbers in general have been established with reference to more than one functional property. Ranges of passive materials, besides the active sensing material go into the construction of underwater electro acoustic transducers. Reliability of the transducer is critically dependent on these passive materials. Rubbers are a major class of passive materials. The present work concentrates on these materials. Conventional rubbers are inadequate to meet many of the stringent function specific requirements. There exists a large gap of information in the rubber technology of underwater rubbers, particularly relating to underwater electro acoustic transducers. This study is towards filling up the gaps of information in this crucial area. Water intake into rubber is considered as the single most important issue for the long-term performance of rubbers, especially Neoprene. In this study, the cause and effects of a range of parameters affecting the water absorption by diffusion and permeation have been investigated.

Radiopaque materials from natural polymers: Special emphasis on chitosan and natural rubber

The present work is to impart radiopacity in various natural polymers like chitosan, natural rubber and derivatives of chitosan and to characterize it. This thesis collated the radiopaque properties of these radiopaque polymers and various technological applications in the medical field. The applications of radiopaque polymers leads to an exploitation of radiopaque properties like X-ray visibility, optical density, effective atomic number, attenuation coefficient of biopolymers like chitosan, chitosan formate, chitosan acetate, carboxy methyl chitosan and natural rubber. The radiopaqe properties of these materials highly depend upon the size, shape, amount of radiopacifier and crystallinity of the radiopaque material. Radiopaque chitosan microspheres were prepared by cross linking with glutaraldehyde followed by the encapsulation of barium sulpahte. The effect of different emulsion systems on the morphology of chitosan microspheres were studied. The study concentrates radiopaque natural rubber for shielding applications. It reveals that to improve the particle size, morphology and crystalline phase of the zinc oxide particles, a novel method for the preparation of zinc oxide is adopted. A detailed radiopacity study was done in natural rubber containing 100phr precipitated zinc oxide prepared from different zinc salts. One of the significant findings of this investigation is that NR vulcanizates containing precipitated zinc oxide (from zinc acetate) shows higher attenuation coefficient. These interesting findings reveal the applications of these natural radiopaque systems in various fields like surgical tools, medical tubings, catheters, radiation shielding,etc.

Dielectric Behavior of Natural Rubber Composites in Microwave Fields

In this article, we report the preparation of conducting natural rubber (NR) with polyaniline (Pani). NR was made into a conductive material by the compounding of NR with Pani in powder form. NR latex was made into a conductive material by the in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of NR latex. Different compositions of Pani- NR semi-interpenetrating networks were prepared, and the dielectric properties of all of the samples were determined in microwave frequencies. The cavity perturbation techpique was used for this study. A HP8510 vector network analyzer with a rectangular cavity resonator was used for this study. S bands 2-4 GHz in frequency were used. Thermal studies were also carried out with thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry.

Dielectric Behavior of Natural Rubber Composites in Microwave Fields

In this article, we report the preparation of conducting natural rubber (NR) with polyaniline (Pani). NR was made into a conductive material by the compounding of NR with Pani in powder form. NR latex was made into a conductive material by the in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of NR latex. Different compositions of Pani- NR semi-interpenetrating networks were prepared, and the dielectric properties of all of the samples were determined in microwave frequencies. The cavity perturbation techpique was used for this study. A HP8510 vector network analyzer with a rectangular cavity resonator was used for this study. S bands 2-4 GHz in frequency were used. Thermal studies were also carried out with thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry.

Effect of the Vulcanization Time and Storage on the Stability and Physical Properties of Sulfur-Prevulcanized Natural Rubber Latex

Prevulcanized natural rubber latex was prepared by the heating of the latex compound at 55°C for different periods of time (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 h). The changes in the colloidal stability and physical properties were evaluated during the course of prevulcanization. The prevulcanized latex compounds were stored for 300 days, and the properties were monitored at different storage intervals (0, 20, 40, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 days). During prevulcanization, the mechanical stability time increased, and the viscosity remained almost constant. The tensile strength increased during storage for a period of 20 days. The degree of crosslinking, modulus, elongation at break, and chloroform number were varied with the time of storage.

Latex Stage Blending of Natural Rubber and Poly(Vinyl Chloride ) for Improved Mechanical Properties

A novel method of blending natural rubber with polyvinylchloride in the latex stage was developed, Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and Amine terminated natural rubber (ATNR) were used as plasticisers, for improving the mechanical properties of these blends. Properties of the latex stage blends were compared with those of dry blends. Latex stage blends showed superior mechanical properties compared to the blends prepared in the dry state. The ageing resistance, oil resistance and processability were found to be improved by latex stage blending.

Swelling behaviour of isora/natural rubber composites in oils used in automobiles

Natural rubber/isora fibre composites were cured at various temperatures. The solvent swelling characteristics of natural rubber composites containing both untreated and alkali treated fibres were investigated in aromatic and aliphatic solvents like toluene, and n-hexane. The diffusion experiments were conducted by the sorption gravimetric method. The restrictions on elastomer swelling exerted by isora fibre as well as the anisotropy of swelling of the composite have been confirmed by this study. Composite cured at 100°C shows the lowest percentage swelling. The uptake of aromatic solvent is higher than that of aliphatic solvent for the composites cured at all temperatures. The effect of fibre loading on the swelling behaviour of the composite was also investigated in oils like petrol, diesel, lubricating oil etc. The % swelling index and swelling coefficient of the composite were found to decrease with increase in fibre loading. This is due to the increased hindrance exerted by the fibres at higher fibre loadings and also due to the good fibre-rubber interactions. Maximum uptake of solvent was observed with petrol followed by diesel and then lubricating oil. The presence of bonding agent in the composites restrict the swelling considerably due to the strong interfacial adhesion. At a fixed fibre loading, the alkali treated fibre composite showed lower percentage swelling compared to the untreated one.

Mechanical Properties of Short-Isora-Fiber-Reinforced Natural Rubber Composites: Effects of Fiber Length, Orientation, and Loading; Alkali Treatment;and Bonding Agent

A series of short-isora-fiber-reinforced natural rubber composites were prepared by the incorporation of fibers of different lengths (6, 10, and 14 mm) at 15 phr loading and at different concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40 phr) with a 10 mm fiber length. Mixes were also prepared with 10 mm long fibers treated with a 5% NaOH solution. The vulcanization parameters, processability, and stress-strain properties of these composites were analyzed. Properties such as tensile strength, tear strength, and tensile modulus were found to be at maximum for composites containing longitudinally oriented fibers 10 mm in length. Mixes containing fiber loadings of 30 phr with bonding agent (resorcinol-formaldehyde [RF] resin) showed mechanical properties superior to all other composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies were carried out to investigate the fiber surface morphology, fiber pullout, and fiber-rubber interface. SEM studies showed that the bonding between the fiber and rubber was improved with treated fibers and with the use of bonding agent.