Palm oil as devulcanization agent for chemical-microwave devulcanization / Nur Jihan Ruslizah

The growing environmental concerns associated with waste tire disposal and the need for sustainable rubber recycling methods have prompted researchers to explore efficient and eco-friendly devulcanization techniques. Microwave devulcanization has emerged as a promising method, enabling rapid and energy-efficient rubber recycling. This thesis investigates the potential of palm oil as a devulcanization agent for chemical-microwave devulcanization. The study focuses on the utilization of palm oil, a readily available and renewable resource, as a devulcanizing agent in the microwave-assisted devulcanization process. In this study the experimental variables used is different EPDM waste to palm oil ratio (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1). Experimental investigations are conducted using waste EPDM samples, subjected to 450watt microwave power for 3 minutes. The extent of devulcanization is evaluated by analyzing the efficiency of the devulcanization process Horikx plot. In addition, the chemical composition of the devulcanized rubber is analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to ensure the breakage of the crosslink in the sample. The results demonstrate that palm oil exhibits remarkable devulcanization efficiency in chemical-microwave devulcanization. The optimum process condition in this study is 2:1, as it has 68.75% of degree devulcanization. The Horikx plot for this graph shows decrease in crosslink density trendline.