EPDM rubber material utilization in epoxy composite systems

摘要

Observing of possibilities for secondary raw materials utilization should rank among the key interests of the society. Nowadays, there are a lot of modern workplaces which are devoted to the possibilities of collecting, processing and using rubber materials. EPDM waste rubber in the form of particles is one of the many products of these workplaces. One of the possibilities for recycling this waste particles material is their interaction with another polymeric material. A reactoplastic which is filled with these particles comes into consideration. This way of utilization of the material is inexpensive and simple. The paper focuses on chosen mechanical qualities of the Epoxy/EPDM waste rubber composite. The waste rubber was gained as one of the outputs of a recycling line of the firm Gumoeko, Ltd., the reactoplastic was represented by a two-component epoxy resin. Distraction of rubber particles in the epoxy matrix was achieved by mechanical mixing without using the technology of vacuum. In the paper, the porosity, tensile strength and shear strength of the composites with various concentrations of EPDM are described. The resulting composite systems may find their application in the field of agriculture – especially during joining and sealing materials of larger units where high quality connections are not required.