Recycling of Waste Rubber by Thermo-Mechanical Treatment in a Twin-Screw Extruder

Recycling of waste tires is a significant issue considering both environmental and economic aspects. One of the leading recycling routes is the shredding of tires resulting in the generation of ground tire rubber. This material can be easily introduced into various polymer matrices as a filler, reducing the use of conventionally applied petroleum-based materials. In such cases, it is essential to ensure sufficient interfacial compatibility, which could be achieved by the proper modification of the rubber surface. Different methods of treatment of ground tire rubber aim to activate its surface and introduce functional groups, which could provide the possibility for interfacial interactions and incorporation of the significant amounts of recycled material. Therefore, in the presented paper, we examined the impact of thermo-mechanical treatment in twin-screw extruder on the appearance and chemical structure of ground tire rubber. Moreover, for each set of process parameters, the specific mechanical energy required for the processing was calculated, which could provide essential insights for the potential industrial application of the analyzed process. The energy demand should be considered as a very important issue during development of “greener” processes and materials.