Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2

Waste rubber disposal causes considerable negative environmental impacts due to its increase worldwide, mainly in the automotive industry. Therefore, the search for technological solutions for rubber waste is a priority, and the first step in this material degradation is devulcanization due to its d...

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Main Authors: Cristian Valdés, Valentina Guzmán, Camila Ponce, Maribel Mamani, Juan Guevara, Claudia Vergara, Rodrigo Andler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Budapest University of Technology and Economics 2025-06-01
Series:eXPRESS Polymer Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.expresspolymlett.com/article.php?a=EPL-0013221
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author Cristian Valdés
Valentina Guzmán
Camila Ponce
Maribel Mamani
Juan Guevara
Claudia Vergara
Rodrigo Andler
author_facet Cristian Valdés
Valentina Guzmán
Camila Ponce
Maribel Mamani
Juan Guevara
Claudia Vergara
Rodrigo Andler
author_sort Cristian Valdés
collection DOAJ
description Waste rubber disposal causes considerable negative environmental impacts due to its increase worldwide, mainly in the automotive industry. Therefore, the search for technological solutions for rubber waste is a priority, and the first step in this material degradation is devulcanization due to its difficult degradation. This study evaluated rubber devulcanization using a closed vessel microwave digestion system with nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through chemical characterization, aiming at verifying the synergistic effect between these oxidizing agents. Microwave irradiation was applied as a heating method to facilitate the chemical reactions, focusing on the synergism between HNO3 and H2O2. Results showed that 5 M H2O2 in combination with 1% HNO3, presented better results. A greater decrease in cross-link density was demonstrated as the concentration of H2O2 increased (3.96·10–5±1.99·10–6 mol/cm3), likewise, higher sulfates released (926.8±53.4 mg/L), increased mass loss (12.184±1.06%), rubber surface fragmentation, and important variations in the C–S, C=O bands, showing better results when devulcanization is carried out in synergism between HNO3 and H2O2.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Budapest University of Technology and Economics
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series eXPRESS Polymer Letters
spelling doaj-art-b08018efe0ac4878a0fd1bbc04b0063d2025-08-20T03:57:43ZengBudapest University of Technology and EconomicseXPRESS Polymer Letters1788-618X2025-06-0119659460910.3144/expresspolymlett.2025.45Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2Cristian ValdésValentina GuzmánCamila PonceMaribel MamaniJuan GuevaraClaudia VergaraRodrigo AndlerWaste rubber disposal causes considerable negative environmental impacts due to its increase worldwide, mainly in the automotive industry. Therefore, the search for technological solutions for rubber waste is a priority, and the first step in this material degradation is devulcanization due to its difficult degradation. This study evaluated rubber devulcanization using a closed vessel microwave digestion system with nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through chemical characterization, aiming at verifying the synergistic effect between these oxidizing agents. Microwave irradiation was applied as a heating method to facilitate the chemical reactions, focusing on the synergism between HNO3 and H2O2. Results showed that 5 M H2O2 in combination with 1% HNO3, presented better results. A greater decrease in cross-link density was demonstrated as the concentration of H2O2 increased (3.96·10–5±1.99·10–6 mol/cm3), likewise, higher sulfates released (926.8±53.4 mg/L), increased mass loss (12.184±1.06%), rubber surface fragmentation, and important variations in the C–S, C=O bands, showing better results when devulcanization is carried out in synergism between HNO3 and H2O2.https://www.expresspolymlett.com/article.php?a=EPL-0013221 crosslinking devulcanization elastomer rubbercarbon black
spellingShingle Cristian Valdés
Valentina Guzmán
Camila Ponce
Maribel Mamani
Juan Guevara
Claudia Vergara
Rodrigo Andler
Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
eXPRESS Polymer Letters
crosslinking
devulcanization
elastomer
rubber
carbon black
title Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
title_full Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
title_fullStr Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
title_full_unstemmed Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
title_short Synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using HNO3 and H2O2
title_sort synergism in the devulcanization of rubber in a closed vessel microwave using hno3 and h2o2
topic crosslinking
devulcanization
elastomer
rubber
carbon black
url https://www.expresspolymlett.com/article.php?a=EPL-0013221
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