Degradation of fluoroelastomers in rapeseed biodiesel at different oxygen concentrations

The degradation of fluoroelastomers (FKM) based on different monomers, additives and curing systems was studied after exposure to rapeseed biodiesel at 100 degrees C and different oxygen partial pressures. The sorption of fuel in the carbon black-filled FKM terpolymer was promoted by the fuel-driven cavitation in the rubber. The bisphenol-cured rubbers swelled more in biodiesel than the peroxide-cured FKM, presumably due to the chain cleavage caused by the attack of biodiesel on the double bonds formed during the bisphenol curing. With any of the selected types of monomer, the FKM rubbers absorbed biodiesel faster and to a greater extent with increasing oxygen partial pressure due to the increase in concentration of the oxidation products of biodiesel. Water-assisted complexation of biodiesel on magnesiumoxide and calcium hydroxide particles led to dehydrofluorination of FKM, resulting in an extensive fuel uptake and a decrease in the strain-at-break and the Young's modulus of the rubbers. An increase in the CH2-concentration determined by infrared spectroscopy, and the appearance of biodiesel flakes in scanning electron micrographs of the extracted rubbers, were explained as being due to the presence of insoluble biodiesel grafted onto FKM on the unsaturated sites resulting from dehydrofluorination. The extensibility of the GFLT-type FKM was the least affected on exposure to biodiesel because this rubber contained less unsaturation and metal oxide/hydroxide particles. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.