A comparative study of the cure characteristics, processability, mechanical properties, ageing, and morphology of rice husk ash, silica and carbon black filled 75 : 25 NR/EPDM blends

The performance of rice husk ash (RHA), obtained by burning rice husks, as a filler for natural rubber (NR)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) blends was investigated. For comparison purposes, two commercial reinforcing fillers, silica and carbon black were also used. A fixed 75 : 25 blend ratio (wt %) of NR and EPDM was prepared using a two-stage conventional mixing procedure. Filler loading was varied from 0 to 60 parts per hundred of resin (phr) at 15 phr intervals. The results indicated that RHA offers processing advantages over silica and carbon black. The use of RHA as an additional filler provided almost no improvement in the tensile strength and abrasion resistance of the 75: 25 NR/EPDM blends. The ozone resistance of the blends was inferior to those obtained from the addition of RHA. However, RHA was better in resilience property than that of silica and carbon black. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the dispersion of RHA filler in the rubber matrix is discontinuous, which in turn generates weak structure when compared with carbon black and silica. According to these observations, RHA could be used as a diluent filler for the 75 : 25 NR/EPDM blend, while silica and carbon black can be used as a reinforcing filler. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.