Dilution And Zncl2 Impact On Eutectic Solvents As Devulcanizing Reagent In De-Linking Phenomena Of Waste Ground Rubber Tire

As an effort to minimize the amount of solvent used in de-linking of waste ground rubber tire (WGRT) for economic benefit, impact of water dilution on devulcanization study with deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was studied. Three different ammonium-based eutectic mixtures were prepared and examination on their water content, degradation temperature and freezing point were conducted. WGRT were mixed with DESs synthesized and diluted at 0, 10, 20 and 30% at fixed sonication and heat treatment conditions. Devulcanized vulcanizates were studied in terms of their density of cross-linkages (CLD), soluble content and devulcanization efficiency (%dev). Additionally, optimized samples underwent further analysis by thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) and Horikx fitting. Analysis shows that increase in water content decreases the %dev and chances of sonoluminescence occurrence is probable due to Zn2+ cation, low frequency sonication as well as water, causing sudden spike in %dev. However, negligible amount of polymeric scission was experienced.