Chemically functionalized renewed rubber composition

{
  "publication_number": "US9574069B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Chemically functionalized renewed rubber composition",
  "abstract": "The renewed rubber of this invention can be used in rubber formulations that are used in manufacturing a wide array of rubber products, including tires, power transmission belts, conveyor belts, hoses, and a wide array of other products. The present invention more specifically discloses a method for manufacturing an environmentally friendly, chemically functionalized, renewed rubber composition having a highly desirable combination of physical properties and which exhibits excellent processability comprising the steps of (1) blending a micronized rubber powder with a processing aid and a chemical functionalizing agent to produce a blended mixture; (2) processing the blended mixture under conditions of high shear and low temperature to produce a reacted mixture; (3) adding a stabilizer to the reacted mixture to produce the chemically functionalized renewed rubber composition.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A functionalized renewed rubber composition which is comprised of an elastomeric polymer and a stabilizer; wherein the functionalized renewed rubber composition has a crosslink density which is within the range of 0.05×10 −5 mole/g to 2.0×10 −5 mole/g, and wherein the functionalized renewed rubber composition has a soluble fraction of less than 90 percent.",
    "2. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 which is based on a tire rubber infeed.",
    "3. The rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the elastomeric polymer is a diene rubber, wherein the stabilizer is a vulcanization retarder and wherein the elastomeric polymer has a soluble fraction of less than 30 percent.",
    "4. The rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the elastomeric polymer is recycled tire rubber.",
    "5. The rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the stabilizer is N-cyclohexyl(thio)phthalimide.",
    "6. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 3 which is futher comprised of a soluble rubber fraction, wherein the soluble rubber is functionalized.",
    "7. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the functionalized renewed rubber composition is in the form of a sheet, a slab, a hexahedron, or a pellet.",
    "8. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the rubber composition has a crosslink density which is within the range of 0.1 to 1.8×10 −5 mole/g.",
    "9. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the functionalized renewed rubber composition is chemically functionalized, and wherein the functional groups are covalently bonded to the polymer chains of the rubber through one or more sulfur atoms.",
    "10. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 wherein the renewed rubber composition is derived from tire sidewalls, tire innerliners, or tire treads.",
    "11. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 9, wherein the renewed rubber composition is predominantly styrene-butadiene rubber.",
    "12. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 9 wherein the renewed rubber composition is derived from tire treads which are comprised of a blend of high cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber and one or more additional rubbers wherein the high cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber has a cis-microstructure content of at least 95 percent.",
    "13. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 3, wherein the renewed rubber composition is derived from tire sidewalls, tire innerliners, or tire treads.",
    "14. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein the stabilizer is present at a level within the range of about 0.25 phr to about 5 phr.",
    "15. A rubber formulation which is comprised of a blend of 5 phr to 50 phr of the functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1 and from 50 phr to 95 phr of virgin natural rubber.",
    "16. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein the elastomeric polymer has a soluble fraction of less than 50%.",
    "17. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein said functionalized renewed rubber composition is further comprised of natural rubber.",
    "18. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein said composition is further comprised of 1 phr to 99 phr of a rubber selected from the group consisting of virgin natural rubber, emulsion styrene butadiene rubber, solution styrene butadiene rubber and high cis,1,4-polybutadiene rubber.",
    "19. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein said composition is further comprised of a reinforcing filler selected from the group consisting of carbon black and silica.",
    "20. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein the elastomeric polymer has a solubility fraction of less than 30%.",
    "21. The functionalized renewed rubber composition as specified in claim 1, wherein the elastomeric polymer contains about 56% polysulphidic crosslinks and about 35% monosulphidic crosslinks."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/986,696 filed on Apr. 30, 2014, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/063,801 filed on Oct. 14, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/105,024 filed on Jan. 19, 2015, is claimed hereby. The teachings of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/986,696, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/063,801, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/105,024 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.\n\nThe present invention relates generally to methods of using reclaimed cross-linked elastomeric material (thermoset polymers) and, in particular, to methods of chemical functionalization of reclaimed elastomeric materials, such as micronized rubber powder and to elastomer compounds and compositions comprising the chemically functionalized elastomeric materials.\n\nMillions of used tires, hoses, belts and other rubber products are discarded annually after they have been worn-out during their limited service life. These used rubber products are typically hauled to a dump or burnt as fuel because there is very little use for them after they have served their original intended purpose. A limited number of used tires are utilized in building retaining walls, as guards for protecting boats and similar things where resistance to weathering is desirable. Some tires are ground into powder form to be used in various applications, such as tire compounds, binders for asphalt, mulch and sports field applications, to name a few. However, a far greater number of tires, hoses and belts are simply discarded or burnt.",
  "cpc": [
    "C08C 19/22",
    "B29D 30/52",
    "B60C 1/00",
    "B60C 1/0016",
    "B60C 2009/0021",
    "C08C 19/08",
    "C08C 19/085",
    "C08J 11/16",
    "C08J 11/28",
    "C08J 2319/00",
    "C08J 2321/00",
    "C08K 2003/2296",
    "C08K 3/04",
    "C08K 5/09",
    "C08K 5/31",
    "C08K 5/40",
    "C08K 5/43",
    "C08K 5/435",
    "C08L 17/00",
    "C08L 19/003",
    "C08L 2201/08",
    "C08L 2205/02",
    "C08L 2205/025",
    "C08L 2205/03",
    "C08L 2205/06",
    "C08L 2207/24",
    "C08L 9/00",
    "C08L 9/06",
    "C08L 91/00",
    "Y02T 10/86",
    "Y02T 10/862",
    "Y02W 30/62"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "C08K 5/31",
    "C08K 5/43",
    "C08L 9/06",
    "B60C 1/00",
    "C08C 19/08",
    "C08C 19/22",
    "C08J 11/28",
    "C08L 17/00",
    "C08L 19/00",
    "C08L 9/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Lehigh Technologies Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Chad Aaron Jasiunas",
    "Frank P. Papp",
    "Charles T. Rosenmayer",
    "Adel Farhan Halasa"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2015-04-23",
  "publication_date": "2017-02-21",
  "grant_date": "2017-02-21",
  "priority_date": "2014-04-30",
  "application_number": "US-201514694447-A",
  "family_id": "53015672",
  "cited_by_count": 6,
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}