Thermal degradation kinetics of polybutadiene rubber

A Hybrid Syntactic Foam-Based Open-Cell Foam with Reversible Actuation

Herein, we report the first hybrid open-cell foam with revisable actuation. Open-cell foams with revisable actuation are favoable for many applications. However, it is challenging to fabricate such open-cell foams with very low density. This study presents a novel concept of creating hybrid two-way (2W) shape memory open-cell foams using two-way shape-memory-polymer-based syntactic foams as the matrix. Previously, a syntactic foam prepared by incorporating hollow glass microbubbles in the cross-linked semicrystalline cis-poly(1,4-butadiene) (cPBD) was proved to have enhanced strength and specific energy output compared to the neat cPBD. Here, the same syntactic foam was used as the matrix, and the open-cell structure was produced by the salt-leaching method. The hybrid foam exhibits very attractive properties, including reversible actuation strain up to 50%, density as low as 0.07 g/cm³, energy output up to 0.23 J/g, tensile strength up to 0.84 MPa, elongation at break as high as 339%, high thermal stability with peak decomposition temperature at 450 °C, and Joule heating and strain sensing capabilities. The tensile strength and stiffness are shown to follow the well-known Gibson-Ashby model for porous materials. Combining the open-cell structure with the reversible actuation and other functionalities enables numerous potential applications for the prepared hybrid foam, including adjustable filters, insulators, sealers, and smart scaffolds.

Pyrolysis of a waste from the grinding of scrap tyres

The fibres that are used to reinforce tyres can be recovered as a waste in the process of grinding of scrap tyres. In this paper beneficiation through pyrolysis is studied since the fibres are made up of polymers with a small amount of rubber because the latter is difficult to separate. The experiments were performed at three temperatures (400, 550 and 900°C) in a horizontal oven. The three products - gas, oil and char - obtained from the pyrolysis were investigated. The composition of the gas was analyzed by means of gas chromatography. The oil was studied by gas chromatography and infrared spectroscopy. The char porous structure was determined by N(2) adsorption. In addition, the topography of the chars was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The products resulting from the pyrolysis of the fibres were compared with those obtained from scrap rubber.

On the pyrolysis kinetics of scrap automotive tires

Pyrolysis kinetics of scrap tires of passenger car and truck have been investigated thermogravimetrically under heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 30K/min and temperature range 373-1273K in nitrogen. The results show that the initial reaction temperatures are 482-521K for the tire of passenger car and 458-511K for truck tire. Both tires exhibit similar behaviors that the initial reaction temperature decreases, but reaction range and reaction rate increase when heating rate is increased. The overall rate equation for each tire can be modeled satisfactorily by a simple one equation from which the kinetic parameters such as the activation energy (E), the pre-exponential factor (A), and the reaction order (n) of unreacted material based on Arrhenius form are determined using Friedman's method. The results show that two tires behave similarly and the average kinetic parameters of two tires are E = 147.95 +/- 0.21kJ/mol, A = (6.295 +/- 1.275)x10(10)min(-1), and n = 1.81 +/- 0.18. The predicted rate equations compare fairly well with the measured data.