Rheological characterization of devulcanized elastomers

The thesis revolves around the study of the rheological properties of elastomeric blends containing tire components. The samples that were analyzed were both crude rubbers and blends, vulcanized and devulcanized products. The compounding, vulcanization and devulcanization processes were carried out and analyzed, in order to obtain informations about the transformation talìking place inside the material's structure. The main experimental methods used to analyze the samples were Dynamical Mechanical Analysys, Differential scanning calorimetry and gel permeation chromatography. The results show the variations in properties from the "raw material" stage, up to the "end of life" stage, giving insight about the possible recycling of these rubbers