Chloroprene rubber devulcanization by using microwave physical process

Abstract

The chloroprene rubber is used to make several artefacts, such as diving and gymnastics outfits, cables coating, special pneumatic automobile tires, and in the shoe industry, among others. In spite of its benefits, a great problem nowadays is to recycle these used or with their lifetime expired galvanized articles, aiming to preserve the environment. The devulcanization of these products may be carried out by biological, chemical and physical processes. The main target of this work was to study the chloroprene recycling/re-use (DuPont - Neoprene®), by the physical microwave process. For this purpose, a basic formulation was done with this kind of rubber, to be used in the automobile industry. The samples irradiations were performed in a microwave generator equipment, developed at the CQMA of the IPEN, which operates with a frequency of 2,450MHz and power of 1,000W to 3,000W. The analyses of the samples irradiated with microwave and with those not irradiated were done by means of hardness, density, permanent deformation and compression, tesile strenght and reometry assays. The results showed that the chloroprene rubber irradiated with microwave presented a trend to vulcanize again and may substitute some unused rubber parts in formulations, without causing considerable losses in the phisical-chemical properties.