Surface Modification of Waste Tire by Grafting with Styrene and Maleic Anhydride

Waste tire powder, as waste rubber WR was subjected to grafting with styrene (St) and maleic anhydride (MA). Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 was used to initiate the free radical copolymerization of St onto WR. A thermal initiation was used in case of grafting of MA onto WR. Effect of initiator and monomer concentrations together with the influence of reaction temperature and reaction time were investigated. The grafting was estimated by weight, and the grafted copolymers were characterized by FT/IR, DSC and SEM to prove the grafting. It has found that the grafting increases with increase monomer and initiator concentrations. The increase in the reaction temperature and time also causes increasing levels of the grafted St and MA.