Investigation of the usability of boron industrial waste as filler in conveyor belt production

Abstract

In the rubber industry, fillers are used to improve certain properties of rubber composites and to make rubber compound recipes cheaper. In this study, the usability of boron industrial waste clay with no monetary value in place of silica filler with commercial value in the rubber industry was investigated and a more economical compound recipe was tried to be obtained. For this purpose, firstly, boron industrial waste clay was characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope, and thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis. Then, the boron samples were used instead of commercial silica, which is the filler widely used in the production of conveyor belts, and both laboratory scale and industrial scale production of boron industrial waste filled rubber composites (BIWFRC) were carried out. The rheological and physico-mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, abrasion, hardness) of BIWFRC were compared with the properties of silica filled rubber composites (SFRC). Furthermore, the effect of thermal oxidative aging on both the tensile strength and elongation at break of SFRC and BIWFRC was also investigated. According to the results, it has been observed that the filler material obtained from boron wastes can be used in rubber products. © 2022, Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature.