Liquid Natural Rubber As A Viscosity Modifier in Nitrile Rubber Processing

The use of thermally depolymerised liquid natural rubber as a plasticiser in nitrile rubber has been investigated with special reference to the rheological aspects. A comparative evaluation has been made with dibutylphthalate, the ester-type plasticiser commonly used with nitrile rubber. The study revealed that the use of liquid natural rubber as a plasticiser and viscosity modifier improved the processability of the compounds and also enhanced many of the vulcanisate properties. © of SCI.