Di Bernardo Carlo, Demichelis Francesca, Dadkhah Mehran, Fino Debora, Messori Massimo, Noè Camilla
Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy.
National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Via G. Giusti 9, 50121 Firenze, Italy.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Aug 22;17(17):2275. doi: 10.3390/polym17172275.
The rubber industry is facing increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices due to environmental concerns associated with the use of non-renewable resources and the growing accumulation of waste tyres and agricultural byproducts. This study explores the potential of partially replacing conventional carbon black (CB) with sustainable alternatives derived from agricultural waste (wine by-products) and pyrolysed waste tyres in natural rubber/styrene-butadiene rubber (NR/SBR) composites for tyre applications. A series of NR/SBR composites were formulated with varying ratios of CB to agricultural waste and pyrolysed tyre waste, while maintaining consistent levels of other additives. The resulting composites were then subjected to a comprehensive suite of analyses, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), bound rubber content determination, Payne effect analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and mechanical property testing. Furthermore, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) analysis were conducted to evaluate the environmental and economic viability of the proposed CB replacements. The results reveal that the incorporation of agricultural waste and pyrolysed tyre waste can significantly impact the curing behaviour, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of rubber composites. Importantly, some of the formulations demonstrate comparable tensile strength, elongation at break, and hardness compared to traditional CB-filled composites. The LCA and LCC analyses further highlight the potential for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, fossil resource depletion, and overall production costs, thereby supporting the transition toward more sustainable tyre manufacturing practices.
由于与不可再生资源使用相关的环境问题以及废旧轮胎和农业副产品的堆积日益增加，橡胶行业面临着越来越大的采用可持续做法的压力。本研究探讨了在用于轮胎应用的天然橡胶/丁苯橡胶（NR/SBR）复合材料中，用源自农业废弃物（葡萄酒副产品）和热解废旧轮胎的可持续替代品部分替代传统炭黑（CB）的潜力。制备了一系列NR/SBR复合材料，其中CB与农业废弃物和热解轮胎废弃物的比例各不相同，同时保持其他添加剂的用量一致。然后对所得复合材料进行了一系列综合分析，包括扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、布鲁诺尔-埃米特-泰勒（BET）比表面积测量、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、结合橡胶含量测定、佩恩效应分析、热重分析（TGA）、动态力学热分析（DMTA）和力学性能测试。此外，还进行了生命周期评估（LCA）和生命周期成本核算（LCC）分析，以评估所提议的CB替代品在环境和经济方面的可行性。结果表明，农业废弃物和热解轮胎废弃物的加入会显著影响橡胶复合材料的硫化行为、力学性能和热稳定性。重要的是，与传统CB填充复合材料相比，一些配方表现出相当的拉伸强度、断裂伸长率和硬度。LCA和LCC分析进一步突出了大幅减少温室气体排放、化石资源消耗和总体生产成本的潜力，从而支持向更可持续的轮胎制造做法转变。
