SBIR Phase I: Development of a Novel Rubber Recycling Process Not Involving Devulcanization

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the reuse of rubber compounds from spent tires in high performance products including new tires without significant loss in product performance. Only a very small portion of those tires are currently being ground up for this purpose because of the detrimental impact on product properties. However, larger quantities could potentially be used if the ground rubber is treated by the process of our invention. This would have several benefits. Manufacturers could reduce material cost, the rubber recycling industry would enjoy significant growth and unsightly tire dumps with associated pollution problems would disappear. Additionally, the tire industry will become more sustainable and other unacceptable uses of old tires currently practiced, such as their use as fuels in low cost operations, would be financially challenged as novel, more profitable uses that retain the integrity of the polymer matrix emerge. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to build upon studies conducted by our company during the last few years. While it was widely known that recycled ground rubber will significantly reduce physical properties, limited information and understanding existed on the basic causes. Much hope was pinned by many companies and academic institutions on the potential merit of the ground up rubber but no significant commercial process previously emerged. This work aims to develop a recycling process which does not require a devulcanization step. This was first demonstrated with model sample geometries that simulate the environment which ground rubber particles experience when added to and being co-vulcanized with fresh rubber compounds. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.