Latex waste products contain rubber hydrocarbon of very high
quality, which is only lightly cross linked. Selected wastes such as thread waste
and glove waste were modified into processable materials by a novel economic
process and thermoplastic elastomers were prepared by blending these modified
waste materials with high density polyethylene in various proportions. The
mechanical properties as well as the rheological behaviour of these blends were
evaluated and compared with those of the natural rubber-high density
polyethylene blends.
Latex waste like glove waste was effectively modified using a new reclaiming
agent, thiocarbanilide. This modified waste was blended with linear low-density
polyethylene (LLDPE) to develop a novel thermoplastic elastomer. Both uncrosslinked
and dynamically crosslinked blends were prepared and their properties
were studied. The results were found to be comparable to those of conventional
thermoplastic elastomers.