United Kingdom | A research team from the Swansea University School of Engineering in Wales, United Kingdom, has developed a new method of incorporating old rubber into the production of new tyres by using gas treatment to change the rubber’s chemical surface.
In order to avoid melting the rubber, it is reduced to particulate form before being mixed with another material. However, this ‘crumb’ rubber has low bonding properties, a problem that has been overcome by the research team in cooperation with a local company. Subjecting the ground rubber to an ionised gas treatment to
change the chemical structure of its surface can significantly improve the material’s bonding
properties. In this way, increasing quantities of old rubber can be combined with new rubber to
produce new tires of flawless quality. In cooperation with a tyre manufacturer, a trial period has now commenced and as a result, the Swansea team's recycling method can be marketed.
