Natural rubber composites reinforced with Dregs residue from cellulose Kraft industry

Abstract

The management and disposal of residues have become an industrial, economic, and environmental issue. Kraft process is widely employed in the production of pulp and, one of its characteristic is the almost complete recovery of the reagents used to obtain cellulose. However, this recovery process can generate residues such as Dregs. In order to recycle this residue, here we demonstrate for the first time the utilization of Dregs waste as filler in natural rubber (NR) composites in order to reinforce mechanical properties. Dregs waste was added to the NR in proportions of 10, 20, and 30 phr. Composites with 10 phr of Dregs showed the best result for abrasion resistance around 212.9 mm3. Meanwhile, NR composite with 20 phr of waste presented greater stress and strain at rupture, 12.44 MPa and 863%, respectively.