Utilization study on red brick waste as novel reinforcing and economical filler for acrylonitrile butadiene rubber composite

Abstract

Red brick waste (RBW) powder was used as a reinforcing filler for acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) for preparing eco-friendly composites. The main constituent of this waste is silica which is considered to be one of the traditional fillers used in the rubber industry. So it was worthwhile to get (RBW) in a suitable manner by using this waste as a filler for NBR. Physicomechanical properties were evaluated, including tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness shore A, and change in mechanical properties after thermal-oxidative aging for seven days at 90 °C. In addition, equilibrium swelling in toluene for prepared composites was also included. Moreover, cross-linking density was measured according to Flory Rehner's equation. From physicomechanical measurements, it is observed that the tensile strength and hardness (shore A) increased with increasing the waste filler content because of the red brick filler's stiffness. In contrast, the elongation at break and equilibrium swelling degree decreased with increasing the waste filler content. The morphology of the polymeric composites was monitored using a scanning electron microscope which reflects the uniform distribution of the filler inside the NBR matrix. The electrical and magnetic properties of NBR/RBW composites were evaluated. The electrical measurements revealed that the values of ε′ increase by increasing red brick waste while ε'' decreases by increasing filler content. The dc conductivity σdc values lie in the order of 10–11 S/cm. This finding recommends that such composites could be used for insulation and antistatic applications. In addition, the magnetic measurements show superparamagnetic behavior in NBR/RBW composites. Therefore, the obtained composites be used as electromagnetic composites based on electrical and magnetic measurements. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]