An environmental friendly approach for recycling of post-vulcanized fluoroelastomer scraps through high-shear mechanical milling
Xinxing Zhang, Canhui Lu, Qingyu Zheng and Mei Liang
Location
Wiley Online Library
Link:
Abstract
An environmental friendly approach for partial de-crosslinking of post-vulcanized fluoroelastomer (FKM) scraps through high-shear mechanical milling has been developed for recycling of the FKM. The method not only overcomes the expensive use and recovery of organic solvents but also gives rise to reclaimed rubbers with superior mechanical properties. After 32 cycles of milling, the gel fraction of FKM decreased from its original 97.8% to 79.7%. The appearance of the –CF2-associated peaks C1s spectra after mechanical milling confirmed the partial de-crosslinking of FKM. The structure change of FKM sol part before and after mechanical milling was also investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements. The reclaimed FKM exhibited excellent mechanical and thermal properties, indicating a strong potential for future applications. The tensile strength of FKM re-vulcanizates is 6.6 MPa, retaining about 84% properties of virgin FKM vulcanizates (7.9 MPa), and the elongation at break was increased from 337.1% to 368.7%.