Issue 44/2012 - Rubber waste materials can be used to make high-quality products

Rubber waste materials can be used to make high-quality products

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) have succeeded in recycling rubber waste materials into a material
that can be made into high-quality products such as wheels, splash covers, handles, knobs and steering castors.
Previously, waste rubber could only be recycled into secondary products
.

This new plastic is called elastic powder modified thermoplastic, or EPMT
for short.
The plastic is made
by crushing rubber waste into an elastic powder and adding it to thermoplastics.
After the rubber fragments form 3mm sized particles, they are cooled by liquid nitrogen to grind into elastic powder, and the elastic powder is mixed with thermoplastics and additives through a melt mixing process to make elastic powder modified thermoplastics
.

The crushing and reuse process of rubber waste has the advantages
of environmental friendliness and resource-efficient use compared with the manufacture of new rubber.
According to Holger Wack of the institute, the rubber waste content in composite materials can be as high as 80%, while thermoplastics account for only 20%, which can be used in injection molding and extrusion processes
.
In addition to this, the material can be recycled
.
The most attractive aspect of this composite is its physical and mechanical properties, such as elasticity, fracture stress and hardness, which can be modified according to customer needs
.
(Li Wei)