Effect of Mixing Schemes on Physico-Mechanical,Aging Properties,and Permeability of Aldehydes through Blends of Natural Rubber and Low Molecular Weight Natural Rubber

This article reports on the physico-mechanical properties, chemical resistance, aging properties, sorption, diffusion, and permeability of aldehydes (acetaldehyde and formaldehyde) through vulcanizates from blends of natural rubber (NR) and low molecular weight natural rubber (LMWNR) compounded by three different mixing schemes. The compounding ingredients were mixed with the two mentioned rubbers using three different mixing schemes by adopting the semi-efficient sulphur vulcanization compounding formulation. In scheme 1, the natural rubber and LMWNR were first mixed before adding the compounding ingredients. In scheme 2, the compounding ingredients were first mixed with the NR before adding the LWMNR and in scheme 3, the compounding ingredients were first mixed with the LMWNR before adding the NR. The physico-mechanical results of the vulcanizates showed that changes in the mixing schemes significantly influence the tensile properties of the vulcanizates. The tensile strengths of the vulcanizates prepared with mixing scheme 2 were 3.5 MPa lower than vulcanizates from scheme 1, whereas scheme 3 was lower than scheme 1 by 7.8 MPa. The aging result of the vulcanizates from all the mixing schemes were found to be similar. The activation energy and free energy change were highest with scheme 1 whereas the extent of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde penetrations were lowest with scheme 1, signifying a well crosslinked and aldehyde-resistant vulcanizate.