Cure Characteristics and Physico-Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber Filled with the Seed Shells of Cherry ( Chrysophyllum Albidum )

摘要

The cure characteristics and the physico-mechanical properties of natural rubber, standardNigerian rubber, SNR10 filled with cherry seed shell (CSS) and standard carbon black CB (N330) weredetermined. The results showed that the scorch, cure times and the maximum torque gradually increased withincreasing filler content for CSS-filled natural rubber, but in the case of CB-filled natural rubber, the scorch andthe cure times decreased while the maximum torque increased with increasing filler content. The tensile strength ofboth CSS and CB-filled vulcanizates increased to a maximum at 40 phr filler content before declining. The moduli(M100 and M300), specific gravity (S.G), hardness and abrasion resistance increased while the elongation at breakand Dunlop resilience decreased with increasing filler content for both vulcanizates. The locally sourced CSSfiller, had a lower reinforcement properties compared to the CB (N330) filler, probably due to its higher moisturecontent and larger particle size.