PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RECYCLED TYRE TREAD COMPOUNDS

The present work was aimed at evaluating the physicochemical characteristics of seven recycled tyre tread compounds. The materials were characterized for elemental composition, surface morphology, surface chemistry, oil content, ash content, thermal degradation and dielectric properties. Some of the materials were analyzed according to the Rubber Research Institute Malaysia (RRIM) in-house methods for comparison. Natural rubber, butadiene rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber were also employed to validate the thermal degradation profile. Results show that all materials exhibit comparable elemental composition, and dielectric and surface properties, but dissimilar composition of rubber compounds as revealed by the simple mass balancethermogravimetric approach. The finding is consistent with the RRIM in-house methods. The proposed thermogravimetric approach is sufficient to assess the composition and quality of recycled tyre tread compounds.