New insights into tire-recycling using Micro X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis

Synopsis: Recycling of end of life rubber products is a challenging task. One possibility is to re-use ground rubber particles (GRP) as a filler for virgin material. However, this recycled material leads to a reduction of rubber properties in comparison to new compounds. One reason is that sulfur is migrating from the matrix into the GRP, which most likely reduces the crosslink density of the surrounding matrix material. The Micro X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (µ-XRF) reveals this diffusion effect and illustrates chemical element distributions on a scale of several square centimeters. Additionally, these concentration differences can be quantified with newly developed methods.