Use of styrene butadiene rubber industrial waste devulcanized by microwave in rubber composites for automotive application

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) composites filled with SBR industrial scraps (SBR-r) devulcanized by microwave. The SBR-r was ground under ambient conditions and subjected to microwave exposure for 1, 2 and 3 min. The composites were developed by the incorporation of 80 phr (parts per hundred of rubber) of the devulcanized SBR-r into the rubber matrix and subsequent revulcanization. The rheometric and physical–mechanical properties (shore A hardness, compression set, tensile and tear strength) were determined. The samples were submitted to two types of accelerated aging processes, in an air oven (thermo-oxidation) and an artificial weathering test in a UV chamber (photo-oxidation). The results were compared with a control sample submitted to the same conditions. For further application in automotive profiles, the set of results indicated that the best performance was achieved by the composite containing SBR-r devulcanized for 2 min in a microwave. For this composite, the changes in the chemical characteristics after aging were evaluated with cross-link density and Attenuated Total Reflectance–Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR) analyses. The results revealed that the aging mechanism was dependent on the presence of SBR-r and on the time of aging. The cross-link density analysis confirmed the occurrence of cross-link scissioning at shorter aging times and the formation of additional cross-linking in the postcure process. The ATR–FTIR results indicated an oxidative process occurring on the surface of the composites for both aging processes. Moreover, artificial weathering presented a more pronounced change in the chemical structure of the samples.