SHROPSHIRE, England (June 5, 2009)—Smithers Rapra is commercializing a new technology for d-vulcanizing scrap rubber.
The technology was developed in a three-year program by members of the DevulCO2 consortium—Smithers Rapra, PJH Partnership, Martins Rubber Co., BD Technical Polymer, J. Allcock & Sons and Charles Lawrence International.
Smithers Rapra said the projected resulted in a commercially competitive devulcanization system for waste tire rubber.
Physical testing results conducted by Smithers Rapra on products manufactured from 100 percent of the devulcanized rubber showed tensile strength values in excess of 18 MPa combined with an elongation at break of 350 percent, the firm said. The process is capable of recovering up to 80 percent of the physical properties of original virgin compounds.