METHOD FOR OBTAINING AN ELASTOMER PRODUCT WITH HIGH PETROLEUM AND ITS BY-PRODUCTS ABSORPTION POWER

Abstract: A method is disclosed for obtaining an elastomer product with high petroleum and its by-products absorption power, derived from devulcanized rubber, originated from tires, heels, soles, etc., blended or not with resins, pigments, fibers, devulcanizers, and green rubbers, used in the form of powder, grains or sheets.

Description: METHOD FOK OBTAINING AN ELASTOMER PRODUCT WITH HIGH PETROLEUM AND ITS BY-PRODUCTS ABSORPTION POWER I ho present invention is related to a method tor obtaining an el stomer product, in powder or grains, wich can aDsorb great anmiounts of petroleum and its by-products. The product is derived from devulcanized rubber artifacts, like tire, heels, soles. rugs, etc, added or not to other products wich give it a better application. A solvent is added to the batch and it is crushed into powder. Its application onto petroleum or its by-products is simple: it is only necessary to pour over the spot one or more layers, depending of the thickness of the; floating petroleum. After some time the rubber powder agglomerate absorbs the petroleum and its by-products, forming a slurry wich can be removed and recycled, if desired, or burnt. Ar. is . of public knowledge, there are many methods for decontamination of petroleum spillinqs. namely at sea, but non of them is really effective in relation to nature preservation. One of the most known methods is to blend to the spille petroleum an e ulsifier, in wich the petroleum is mixed to th sea water, thus disappearing from sight. What truely happened wa only a grater pollution, since the petroleum was not removed an besides the emulsifier, wich is in itself a great polluter, wa added. Another known method is to add one jellyfier element wic absorbs the petroleum and sinks with it. covering the bed of th environ ent where the petroleum was spilled. In this case, no only the pollution is transferred from up to down. but another pollutant was added: the jellyfier agent, wich drowses the flor and the fauna of the environment. There are still other methods, like surrounding the spilled petroleum spot with floaters and, at the same time, trying Lo pump the petroleum with centrifugal pumps on board of special boats, wich seclude the petroleum, rendering the water back • to the environment. It is a less polluting method, but it can only be applied to little spillings. All those methods untill now applied are too expensive or merely transfer the pollution to another place. In the other hand, when the petroleum is scattered over rocks or absobed by sand, it becomes difficult to seclude it because, owing to its high viscosity, it becomes entangled to any product over whose surface it lays. According to the present manufacturing method, a product is provided whose density may be equal to or less than that of the water, and is produced in the form of powder or grains, having high petroleum and its by-products absorption power, at a less expensive price than any other method. It is important to mention that the application of a low cost raw material, as is the case of discarded rubber products, like tires, makes it possible to reduce another pollution source of difficult elimination. The present method consists of grinding little pieces of vulcanized rubber along with resins, oils, devulcanizers, pigments, etc, and with solvent untill they are transformed into a very fine and seemingly unpalpable solution and/or suspension, and drying it after into powder or little g-rains, or chips, in a way they can be dispersed over the surface of the spilled petroleum or its by-products. Tiia choice of the products to be blended in the manganese steel ball mill will depende exclusively of the kind of material to be absorbed. For instance. if the spilled product iε a lubicating oi] , it would bo advisable to use one kind of resin more compatible with paraftines; it, tor instance. the oil is highly aromatic, it would be advisable to use one kind of resin more compatible with the aromatics: and so on. However, it is known that the majority of vulcanized rubber compositions have a density hiqher than water, being thereby necessary to add one kind o1 pure rubber, whose density is about 0.92. providing the final product with an adequate density for absorbing the desired material. If the environment where the petroleum and its by-products were spilled is water, the density has to be not higher than l. If the environment where the spilling happended is on land, then there will be no need to have low densities, wich could be even higher than 1. However, there are cases in wich it. is necessary that the absorbing product have an absorption degree higher than vulcanized rubber. Then it is possible to use one pure rubber, like natural rubber, SBR, IR, etc. There also are cases in wich, in order to provide a better resistance to the product swollen with petroleum and its by-products, it is necessary to increase the number or to create new crosslinking points, wich arises the need of adding to the product, after its solution or dispersion in the mill, a certain a mount of vulcanizer agent. The use of the solvent as a means of making the vulcanized rubber soluble or dispersed is essential, because, in the drying where the slurry that comes from the mill iε transformeα into powαer or grains, it becomes porous, alowinα the absorption to happen, not only inside the macromolecule. but also into th pores of the powder or grains. The choice of " the size of the powder or grains will als depend of the needs of the application. Thus, in a windy weather, it wouLd be wasteful using too much fine particles, and therefor it would be necessary ,o use greater particles. One can also use plates or sheets of particles, linked b elements foreign to the medium, like very fine wires, or linke to each other with resins, adhesives, etc, or by mere compressio or heat binding. Several example batches were made: Example 1 About 200 g of tire chips (d = 1.13), 287 g of shoe soles o vulcanized pure rubber (d = 0.92), 10 g of phenolic resin, 1 g o devulcanizer and 2,800 g of toluene were put into a manganes steel ball mill. The batch was ground till the product becam reduced into a impalpable slurry. The product was removed an dryed. being transformed into grains (30 mesh). About 100 g of petroleum were spilled on a tray filled with water. Over th floating petroleum, about 20 g of the grains obtained above were pulverized with the aid of a 20 mesh sieve. After a 2 hour resting period all petroleum was absorbed. Example 2 The same experiment (.Example 1) was repeated, only instea of allowinq the water to rest, it was constantly stirred up. It was observed, as one. couid Int etoli, that the absorption happenead in a much quicker pace: instead of 2 hours, all petroleum was already absorbed in 20 minutes. Example) 3 bout 200 g ot liit 1 chips (d = 1.1J ), -L> g o1 poiyi sopi βne (d = 0.92) and 2,80υ α of trichloroethylene were put into a manganese steel ball mill. The product was ground until it was transformed into an impalpable slurry. It was blended with monofi] ment pieces, rayon staples, and dryed in heaten cilindHis. The 2 mm thick sheet was cut into 50 x 50 mm pieces. About 100 g of petroleum were spilled onto a tray lilled with water and covered up with pieces of the rubber sheet prepeared above. 1 he petroleum was completely absorbed, being secluded from the wateir. Example 4 The same experi ent (Example 3) was repeated. being the powder dispersed over a screen about 100 mesh, well teased, clamped by the edges and with a low pressure on it, in a way that the powder became entangled and would not come free when pulverized with an alchooi dissolved resin, unsoluble in water or petroleum and its by-products. After it was dryed, the agglutinate sheet was cut into 50 x 50 mm pieces. Fuel oil was spilled onto a tray filled with water and over it the pJates prepeared above were placed. The oil was fully absorbed and secluded from the water. Example 5 About 400 q of pre-vuicanized rubber, chopped into little pieces. about ? x 2 ruin, alono with 2.R00 q of toluene were put into a anαanese sτ.e^J ball mi 1 J and ground into an impalpable slum Tnr' produ^l . if r<=>r i vinn and t rHrcToπnino into r>C ' wπr>r , was dispersed over the surface of the petroleum spilled onto th water. in the sa e way and ^. me Ξtnimount.s ol L a ple 1. Al petroleum was absorbed.

Claims: CLA I MS 1. A METHOD FOR OBTAINING AN tLASTOMt.K PRODUCT WITH HIGH PETROLEUM AND IIS BY-PKϋDUCIS ABSOKPIIUN PuWER. characterized m that ttie elastomer product iε in the form of powder, grains or sheets. and is derived from reclaimed rubber from vulcanized rubber swollen with solvent, by homogenizing manganese steel mills. 2. A METHOD, according to claim 1 , characterized in that the reclaimed rubber is originated from tire chips, discarded products, like heels, soles, rugs and latex artifacts, burrs, tires, pre-vulcanized rubbers and the like. 3. A METHOD, according to claim 1, characterized in that, along with the reclaimed rubber, it is also used green rubber, resins, oils, d vulcanizers. fibers, etc. 4. A METHOD, according to claim 1, characterized in that the powder or grains are used free or agglutinated by filaments, resins. rubber, or simply linked to each other by mere heating, in order to form sheets.

Inventors: OLIVEIRA DA CUNHA LIMA LUIZ CA, OLIVEIRA DA CUNHA LIMA, LUIZ, CARLOS
Applicants: OLIVEIRA DA CUNHA LIMA LUIZ CA, OLIVEIRA DA CUNHA LIMA, LUIZ, CARLOS
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C08J7
IPC codes: C08J11