Curing and reinforcement effect of recovered carbon black from waste tires on brominated butyl rubber

The recycling of zinc compound from waste tires and the negative impact of zinc oxide on environment have been major challenges in rubber industry. In this study, the components and microstructure of recovered carbon black (rCB) from waste tires pyrolysis are analyzed, in which the content of the ash and zinc element is 20 % and 6.1 %, and zinc sulfide is the main zinc compound. Zinc sulfide and zinc oxide could crosslink brominated butyl rubber (BIIR), and the crosslinking effect becomes more effective in the presence of carbon black N660. BIIR can be crosslinked and reinforced by rCB in the absence of other additives. BIIR/rCB composites have similar curing behavior and mechanical properties to the BIIR composites filled with N660 and cured by zine oxide. Therefore, rCB could replace commercial carbon black N660 and zinc oxide in BIIR, and this replacement will realize the effective use of carbon black and zinc compound in rCB from waste tires and promote the sustainable development of tire industry.