The Effect of Reclaim Softener on Properties of Reclaimed Rubber

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The reclaiming process of full tire rubber powder with no treatment was carried out with a torque rheometer. The effect of reclaim softener types and loads on reclaiming and the properties of the revulcanized reclaimed rubber were investigated. The sol fraction significantly increased and the crosslink density gradually decreased with the increase of reclaim softener loads, but the reclaimed rubber with wood tar reclaim softener had the lowest sol fraction and highest crosslink density at the same loads as other reclaim softeners. The types of reclaim softener had almost no influence on the types of scission, but the proportion of main-chain scission increased with the increase of reclaim softener loads. An improvement of processability was observed with the increase of reclaim softener, but it was accompanied by a decrease in tensile strength. Dynamic mechanical properties of the reclaimed rubber were also investigated. The uncured reclaimed rubbers loaded with reclaim softener showed much lower G′values and slightly higher tan δ values than the reclaimed rubber without reclaim softener and the cured reclaimed rubbers showed much lower G′values and slightly lower tan δ values than the blank.