ANALYSIS OF CARBON BLACK-REINFORCED CARDANOL-MODIFIED NATURAL RUBBER COMPOUNDS

Carbon black is advantageous for rubber as a reinforcing filler. Carbon blacks at higher loadings require process aids for easier processing and improved filler dispersion. Aromatic oils have been used so far in the rubber industry as plasticizer and process aids. The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in these oils has raised concerns, and they have been banned. Rubber industries are looking for alternate sources of process aids from renewable resources. Cardanol (m-pentadecenyl phenol), an agricultural by-product of the cashew industry, is cheap and abundantly available. It was proved recently to be a plasticizer and a multifunctional additive. The dispersion of carbon black in natural rubber (NR) grafted chemically with cardanol (CGNR) is investigated and compared with that of oil plasticized natural rubber. The physico-mechanical properties of the carbon black filled CGNR vulcanizates are better than that of the aromatic oil plasticized NR vulcanizates. The cross-link density and bound rubber content are higher and the Payne effect is lower for the carbon black filled CGNR vulcanizates as compared with oil plasticized NR vulcanizates. Dispersion of carbon black in the CGNR matrix is uniform and better than the aromatic oil plasticized NR.