The development of rubber-thermoplastic blends from ground tyre rubber and waste polypropylene

Abstract

Rubber-thermoplastic blends are regarded as economical alternatives to the synthesis of new polymers with moderate characteristics and the market for such materials has grown dramatically because of the ability to recycle and process them in conventional thermoplastic machinery. Polymer blending entails the combination of the attractive features of several materials to improve the deficient characteristics of anyone of them, with a reduction in the price of the end product. Blending of polymer waste further reduces the price whilst helping to solve the waste disposal problem that industry currently faces. Rubber rich blends produce a soft thermoplastic elastomer while plastic rich blends produce a rubber toughened thermoplastic. However, literature reveals that the additions of rubber to a thermoplastic matrix result in a significant overall deterioration in mechanical properties.