Blends of Acrylonitrile rubber with Maleic anhydride grafted Whole Tyre
Reclaim WTR (MA-g-WTR) have been prepared and the cure and mechanical
properties have been studied with respect to reclaim content. Control
compounds containing unmodified WTR were also prepared for comparison.
Grafting was confirmed by IR studies. Blends containing grafted WTR showed
higher minimum torque and (max-min) torque. They also showed longer cure
time, scorch time and lower cure rate. Grafting of the WTR with maleic
anhydride also resulted in the improved tensile strength, abrasion resistance,
compression set and resilience. However, the heat build up under dynamic
loading was marginally higher for the blends containing grafted reclaimed
rubber.