Recycled Rubber – How and Why you Recycle a Tire

Recycled Rubber

tire sculpture yong ho ji
Tire sculpture yong ho ji

Used tires are everywhere.  You see them left on the highway, strips littering the highways.  Why not use them for good? What are some recycled rubber ideas?  Look at this amazing art work by Yong Ho Ji.  I have seen sandals made out of tires. This was definitely an early use of recycling.  Vulcanizing and shredding are two great ways to preserve the rubber and reform it into what  a consumer might need.  This is a quick overview.

rubber-tires

 

Vulcanize Rubber

There are many ways to recycle rubber tires. These two different processes explained are quite different.  Vulcanizing rubber is a process of heating with high pressure and temperature the rubber to form a new form.  This process can form products into shapes and molds.  Consistent throughout: because it is vulcanized as a solid product and not held together by binders it does not wear down, curl or buckle.  When stress is applied the vulcanized rubber deforms, but upon release of the stress, the article reverts to its original shape. There are 5 different types of this process.  Humane Manufacturing use a similar process.

  1. Sulfur systems
  2. Peroxides
  3. Urethane crosslinkers
  4. Metallic oxides
  5. Acetoxysilane

Shredding Rubber

Shredding rubber is a different process with developed machinery to provide high quality rubber crumb from rubber and tire scrap.  Different machines are processing the rubber in different ways processing remainders from rubber molding, shredding rubber scrap or shredding tires. High quality machines can eliminate the steel and other debris and leave just the virgin rubber.  This rubber is held together with polymers and bonding agents.  These fibers weave together creating a strong bond while allowing resilience through an energy manufacturing process that requires minimal water, avoids heat, and reuses in-line scrap to decrease waste.  This is truly a win win win for the consumer,

The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System classify each product to determine its rating based on the process and the final product. Regupol America, and expert at recycled rubber, recently earned GreenCircle Certification, a third-party certification of sustainable aspects of products and manufacturing operations.

Pavercompare

Different recycled rubber products creat different looks and different performances Look for more information for products at Abacus Surfaces at www.abacussurfaces.com