Bagasse-rubber

BAGASSE-RUBBER COMPOSITE DEVELOPMENT Composite Filler Selection... 

Table 4 gives the formulation for the optimized bagasse-rubber composite material on both a percent by weight and parts by weight based on 100 parts of natural rubber. 

The process outline for making the dense, bagasse-rubber material is shown in Figure 1. 

Figure 1. Process Outline for Making Dense, Bagasse-Rubber Composite.

Lower cost general purpose bagasse-rubber composite formulations are identical to those for the fire-retarded formulation, except that a non-chlorinated rubber processing oil (e.g., Sun-dex 790) is substituted for the chlorinated paraffin oil, no... 

The bagasse-rubber product is a rigid-tough, dark red panel that can be molded into flat, corrugated, or other roofing element shapes. It can be nailed, drilled, cut, sawed, etc. for installation of a roof. 

The mechanical characteristics of the bagasse-rubber roofing products are shown in Table 5. Results are for the initial material and following 1,000 hours of weatherometer exposure with cyclic UV, water spray, temperature, and humidity. The tensile strength retention of 97% is considered excellent. 

Roofing applications require very high performance from materials with respect to both strength and outdoor durability. But materials that are adequate for roofing may also be useful to construct other parts of a building. Bagasse-rubber composite appears to be functionally useful in this regard, but the economics should be studied. 

Table 5. Physical Properties of Bagasse-Rubber Composite ...

Bras and coworkers studied the composite from NR and the bagasse whiskers which resulted in an increase in moisture sorption of rubber films up to 5%... 

Guayule bagasse has shown promise in the manufacture of particleboard and ceiling tiles, especially because it contains sufficient low molecular weight rubber and resin components to provide a natural adhesive. Additional potential uses for guayule bagasse and fiber, before or after resin extraction, include their use in building materials (108,133,134). 

Accordingly, we did most of our research and development on natural rubber bonded composites using bagasse filler. As a binder resin, natural rubber has some of the same advantages as bagasse in that it is a naturally renewable resource that is widely produced in large quantities in tropical countries at a "reasonable" cost. 

Formulation and Processing Studies in Natural Rubber Bonded Bagasse Composites... 

Table 1. Flexural Strength and Modulus of Vulcanized Rubber Bagasse Composite as a Function of Sulfur Content...

Sample Number Natural Rubber (b) Sulfur Sundex 790 Oil(c) Bagasse (d) Iron Oxide 477(e) Flexural Strength (psi) Deflection at Break (inch)... 

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