EFFECT OF CARBON BLACK NATURE ON DYNAMIC MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND REINFORCEMENT OF NR VULCANIZATION BY LATEX TECHNIQUES

The influence of the structure and size of carbon black on the static mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of filled natural rubber (NR) compounds is investigated in detail. A new process for the production of carbon black master batches with enhanced mechanical properties has been developed. The unit operations in the process are the preparation of carbon black slurry in the presence of a suitable surfactant, addition of the slurry to the fresh NR latex under stirring, coagulation of the mixture by the addition of acid, dewatering of the coagulum, and drying to obtain carbon black-incorporated NR. The competence of the new technique is established by comparing the characteristics of the carbon black-incorporated NR by the mill mixing process (control). The mechanical properties, including tensile strength, modulus, tear strength, and hardness, are superior for the vulcanization prepared by the latex-suspension coagulation techniques. The improvement shown by the vulcanization prepared by the latex-suspension coagulation techniques was attributed to the better filler dispersion evidenced from the scanning electron micrograph along with the attainment of a higher level of vulcanization.