State of the art: Recycling of EPDM rubber vulcanizates

Since the past few decades, environmental issues have become a serious concern in society. It is a requisite for the industry to minimize waste, in order to protect the environment from being polluted. The term waste here comprises processing waste and post-consumer waste. The amount of processing waste should not be underestimated since it might consist of approximately 10% of the total production. The recycling of EPDM rubber is an interesting topic, especially if considered in connection with the continuous market growth of EPDM. This paper is a summary of efforts that have been taken so far on this subject. Studies done on EPDM recycling include reusing EPDM as filler in new rubber products and chemical, thermal, an mechanical devulcanization of EPDM in order to achieve a material that resembles the virgin one and could be revulcanized. Such studies on EPDM recycling are discussed extensively and in the conceptual frame of more general rubber recycling processes.