Incorporation of Rubber Waste to Fiber Cement Composite: Comparative Study of Rubber Tire Waste and Rubber Band Waste

This study compares the effects of rubber tire waste and rubber band waste on physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of cement composite for roofing application. The rubber particles, prepared from waste rubber tire (RT) and/or calcium carbonate filled rubber band (RB), were mixed with cement paste and tested for workability and flexural strength. It was found that RT yields higher workability than RB when mixed with the cement paste. The rubber-cement composites (CR) with the combination of RT and RB at the RT:RB volume fraction of 1.00:0.00 (CRT), 0.75:0.25 (CRT.75/B.25) and 0.50:0.50 (CRT.50/B.50) have sufficient workability and flexural strength. When mixing different rubber particles with oil palm fibers and the cement paste to obtain CFRT, CFRT.75/B.25, CFRT.50/B.50 rubber-fiber-cement composites, the composites with higher RT content have higher flexural strength, while those with higher RB content have lower thermal conductivity, implying better thermal insulation property. More importantly, all three types of rubber-fiber-cement composites yield excellent thermal insulation property, and meet the flexural strength required by the industrial standard for the fiber-cement roof tile sheets. The results suggest that the waste rubber-waste oil palm fiber-cement composites can be viable candidates for roofing application with promising potential for energy saving.