Rubber Curing Systems

This review discusses the different types of curing systems available today for different rubber types, including natural rubber, SBR, NBR, BR, IIR, CR, XIIR and EPDM. The uses of primary and secondary accelerators, prevulcanisation inhibitors (PVIs) and antireversion chemicals are outlined.Typical rubber formulations for applications in industrial rubber products and tyres are given. Cure systems are described and compared with extensive tables of data on formulae and compound properties. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.

This revised and expanded single-source reference analyzes all compounding material classes of dry rubber compounds, such as carbon blacks, platicizers and age resisters, integrating detailed information on how elastomers are built up. The work provides practical compounding tips on how to avoid oil or antioxidant bloom, how to adjust electrical conductivity and how to meet volume swell requirements.;This second edition: provides material on government regulations regarding rubber waste; presents current insights into the fast-growing polymer technology of thermoplastic elastomers; discusses the ramifications of the commercial availability of epoxidized natural rubber; and offers a comprehensive tabular chart on the properties of polymers.

In this book, two new methods are described and supported by extensive experimental results that measure the amounts of a sulfur-donor thiuram accelerator and a sulfenamide thiazole accelerator needed to provide monomolecular coverage of zinc oxide. These methods use zinc oxide with only one accelerator and no stearic acid to produce two single additives, that can efficiently cure rubber, despite using fewer chemicals. This is a departure from the past when efficiency in sulfur vulcanization was achieved by using a high volume of these chemicals. A few sulfur-donor accelerators that exist produce highly toxic nitrosamines during high-temperature mixing and curing. When safer accelerators are on hand to treat the zinc oxide, a suitable single additive will be available to replace the current sulfur cure systems in industrial rubber formulations. This will bring huge benefits to the manufacturers and users of these chemicals. It is preferable to use zinc oxide to determine the precise amount of the accelerator required for a satisfactory cure rather than relying on outdated methods that need to be modified. A software is also developed to help with the selection and management of zinc oxide and the accelerators for the sulfur vulcanization. Green rubber products are within reach.

Featuring the work one of the world’s foremost authorities on rubber curing, this uniquely comprehensive resource provides valuable data that will allow researchers and engineers to find solutions to their own curing problems. It delves into a variety of current evaluation practices for unvulcanized and vulcanized rubber and curing methods, including the use of molds and injection molding. It also explores a number of solutions to on-going challenges with recycling scrap rubber. In all cases, theoretical treatments are offered in a didactic manner, so that readers not fully familiar with the terms can, nevertheless, easily understand the developments in this field.

Handbook of Microwave Technology