Effect of ultrasonic amplitude on ultrasonic desulfurization process and performance of ground tire rubber

Abstract

The desulfurized ground tire rubber (DGTR) was prepared from 40 mesh waste ground tire rubber by ultrasonic desulfurization process in an ultrasonic co-rotating twin- screw extruder. The effects of ultrasonic amplitude on the die pressure and power consumption during ultrasonic desulfurization process, the external morphology, rheological properties and curing characteristics of DGTR, and the mechanical properties of the re- vulcanized DGTR were studied. The results showed that with the increase in ultrasonic amplitude, the gel content, viscosity and storage modulus of the DGTR decreased gradually and loss factor increased gradually. When the ultrasonic amplitude was set as 13 μm, the number of the broken cross-linked bonds of DGTR was the largest during ultrasonic desulfurization process, which meant that the desulfurization degree of DGTR was the highest. Moreover, the tensile strength of the re-vulcanized DGTR decreased gradually and elongation at break increased gradually with the increasing ultrasonic amplitude.

Keywords

• ultrasonic amplitude
• ground tire rubber
• ultrasonic desulfurization process
• rheological property
• curing characteristics
• mechanical property