Mahmoud Doaa S, El-Sabbagh Salwa H, Abdo Sayeda M
Polymers and Pigments Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Hydrobiology Lab, Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 4;15(1):810. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-82878-7.
Carbon black (CB) as rubber reinforcement has raised environmental concerns regarding this traditional petroleum-based filler, which is less susceptible to biodegradability. Although it has great reinforcing properties, the production technique is no longer sustainable, and its cost increases regularly. For these reasons, it is wise to look for sustainable replacement materials. Microalgal biomass (MB) has demonstrated great potential for use as biodegradable nano fillers in rubber composites. Microalgal has a high biomass productivity compared to traditional crops. They can produce a large amount of biomass per unit of land area, making them highly efficient in terms of resource utilization. In the present research, microalgal biomass was blended with CB at different concentrations for preparing two different kinds of rubber composites: Nitrile rubber Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) are two common synthetic rubbers. In this study, the researchers investigated using microalgal biomass as filler in rubber composites. They assessed the filler-matrix interaction by evaluating the processability, mechanical characteristics, Payne effect, and swelling properties of the MB/CB-filled composites and compared them to CB-filled composites. The results show that rubber composites incorporating dual fillers (microalgal biomass and carbon black) had faster cure times, increased torque, and improved mechanical properties. The results prove biomass helps to minimize bulk quantities of CB and may be used as a partial replacement while still improving the mechanical properties. According to the study, microalgal biomass can successfully replace up to 50% of the CB filler. This will reduce petroleum dependence and possibly costs, depending on current petroleum prices.
炭黑（CB）作为橡胶增强剂引发了人们对这种传统石油基填料的环境担忧，因为它不易生物降解。尽管它具有优异的增强性能，但其生产技术不再可持续，且成本不断增加。出于这些原因，寻找可持续的替代材料是明智之举。微藻生物质（MB）已显示出作为橡胶复合材料中可生物降解纳米填料的巨大潜力。与传统作物相比，微藻具有很高的生物质生产率。它们每单位土地面积能产生大量生物质，使其在资源利用方面效率极高。在本研究中，将微藻生物质与不同浓度的CB混合，以制备两种不同的橡胶复合材料：丁腈橡胶 丙烯腈 - 丁二烯橡胶（NBR）和丁苯橡胶（SBR）是两种常见的合成橡胶。在这项研究中，研究人员研究了使用微藻生物质作为橡胶复合材料中的填料。他们通过评估MB/CB填充复合材料的加工性能、机械特性、佩恩效应和溶胀性能来评估填料与基体的相互作用，并将其与CB填充复合材料进行比较。结果表明，含有双填料（微藻生物质和炭黑）的橡胶复合材料具有更快的硫化时间、更高的扭矩和更好的机械性能。结果证明生物质有助于减少CB的大量使用，并且可以用作部分替代品，同时仍能改善机械性能。根据该研究，微藻生物质可以成功替代高达50%的CB填料。这将减少对石油的依赖，并可能降低成本，具体取决于当前的石油价格。
