Improving the properties of reclaimed waste tire rubber by blending with poly(ethylene- co-vinyl acetate) and electron beam irradiation.

ABSTRACT Scrap rubber reclamation is one of the most desirable approaches to solve the disposal problem of used tires. However, reclaimed tire rubber (RTR) has not gained enough attention due to its poor properties. In this work, the effects of poly(ethylene- co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) addition and electron beam (EB) irradiation on the properties of RTR were studied. The RTR/EVA blends containing 100-0 wt % of RTR were prepared in the internal mixer followed by EB irradiation with doses ranging from 50 to 200 kGy. The RTR/EVA blends were subjected to mechanical, gel content, thermal, and morphological analysis. It was found that the addition of EVA to RTR improved the mechanical properties of RTR. However, results revealed that RTR undergoes irradiation-induced crosslinking in a relatively lesser extent as compared to EVA. This observation is associated with the stabilization and radical scavenging effects of additives, which are present in the RTR matrix. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41649. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]