Physicochemical Characterization of Different Steam Activations of Corn Stover Biochar and Their Reinforcement of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Composites

• Published in: Waste and biomass valorization 2024-04, Vol.15 (4), p.2285-2298
• Main Authors: Bardha, Alexander, Kurian, Jiby Kudakasseril, Gariépy, Yvan, Prasher, Shiv, Cornejo, Reyda L. B., Khirpin, Constantine, Mehlem, Jeremy, Dumont, Marie-Josée
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additives; Agricultural wastes; Ash content; Black carbon; Butadiene; Carbon; Carbon black; Carbon content; Charcoal; Corn; Engineering; Environment; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Fillers; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Mechanical properties; Organic wastes; Original Paper; Petroleum; Physicochemical processes; Physicochemical properties; Pyrolysis; Reinforcement; Renewable and Green Energy; Rubber; Skeletal composites; Slurries; Steam; Stover; Styrene; Styrenes; Vegetables; Waste Management/Waste Technology
• ISSN: 1877-2641; 1877-265X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12649-023-02287-1

Reinforcing fillers account for most of the mass of additives in a rubber composite mixture. The most common reinforcing filler is carbon black, a petroleum-sourced powder with high carbon content, high surface area, and low ash content. Recent research has demonstrated the possibility for replacement of carbon black with biochar for reinforcement in rubber. To develop a biochar that performs as well as or better than carbon black, it is necessary to identify and analyze effective feedstocks and pyrolysis processing conditions. This study produced biochar from corn stover, an abundant crop waste, at 700 °C followed by three different steam activations. These biochars were compounded in styrene-butadiene rubber composites and compared to those filled with N772 carbon black. The physicochemical properties of the biochars and the resulting composites were analyzed and compared to those filled with traditional carbon black N772 filler. This study presents the physicochemical characterization of the biochars produced, then evaluates the mechanical properties of the resulting vulcanized rubber composites. The results demonstrate that unactivated corn stover biochar and gaseous steam-activated corn stover biochars have poor performance as reinforcement fillers in comparison to N772. However, slurry-based activation of the corn stover biochar proved to be an effective treatment method to improve the mechanical properties of a biochar-filled rubber composite with comparable performance to the N772-filled composites. Graphical abstract