Study of non-negligible chemical reduction of ZnO in the rubber industry

Abstract Although the presence of small portion of zinc in the tire industry has been employed as activator, it should be concerned as the non-negligible chemical toxics and risks. The aim of this work was to study the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) on physical and mechanical properties of tire rubber compound. The control characteristics of the composites were determined by the composites of practical compounds and vulcanizates by filling of sulfur and curing of a hot press machine. The properties of the composites, i.e. Mooney viscosity, curing time, tension, etc, were characterized. Generally, ZnO could work coupled with stearic acid (SA), the experimental was prepared by reducing ZnO at 20% and reducing stearic acid at approximately ratio to prevent excessive amount. The comparative data revealed the trend of the changes in the physical and mechanical properties just not lower at the same percentage. This recognized study supports the high possibilities in enhancing low ZnO and stearic acid content typical.