Provided herein are organic solvent-based processes for the removal of rubber from non-Hevea plants such as guayule shrubs. By the use of the processes, solid purified rubber can be obtained that contains 0.05-0.5 weight % dirt, 0.2-1.5 weight % ash, and 0.1-4 weight % resin (when it has been dried so as to contain 0.8 weight % volatile matter).

Systems and methods for managing the waste associated with the extraction of rubber from guayule shrubs are provided. Also provided is a portable local sub-station for reducing the transportation costs associated with the processing of guayule shrubs for the extraction of rubber. Use of the disclosed systems, methods and/or local sub-station can reduce transportation costs, reduce processing costs and reduce the downstream processing complexity associated with the extraction of rubber from guayule shrubs.

An ultra-light graphene-rubber foam particle for soles is prepared from, by weight, 60-65 parts of natural rubber, 8-12 parts of isoprene rubber, 8-12 parts of butadiene rubber, 6-8 parts of styrene butadiene rubber, 0.8-1.0 parts of modified graphene, 0.08-0.12 parts of poly(N-vinylacetamide), 0.8-1.0 parts of silicone oil, 3.0-3.5 parts of inorganic nano-particles, 1.2-1.5 parts of activated zinc oxide, 0.8-1.0 parts of zinc stearate, 1.0-1.2 parts of stearic acid, 0.8-1.0 parts of cross-linking agents, 2.0-3.0 parts of flow promotors, and 1.5-1.8 parts of foaming agents. According to the invention, the modified graphene is uniformly dispersed into the rubber materials, so that the ultra-light graphene-rubber foam particle has good thermal stability, wear resistance and tensile strength, the permanent compressive-deformation performance and thermal contraction resistance are improved, and the weight is reduced by over 50%.

The present invention discloses a multilayer composite rubber-plastic foam insulation material and a preparation method thereof. The composite rubber-plastic foam insulation material includes a two-layer structure; the two-layer structure includes an insulation layer and a first functional layer; the insulation layer and the first functional layer are both made of a rubber-plastic foam material; the first functional layer and the insulation layer are integrally molded by blending extrusion and vulcanization foaming, and the first functional layer and the insulation layer form an integral structure. The multilayer composite rubber-plastic foam insulation material provided by the present invention adopts a vulcanization foaming integral molding process, and not only ensures the thermal insulation property of the insulation layer, but also gives the functional layer corresponding functions by selecting different functional polymers, thereby satisfying a variety of personalized needs in engineering applications.

The present disclosure is directed to rubber compositions comprising at least one rubber, at least one reinforcing carbon black filler, and a whey protein component. The whey protein component is in an amount sufficient to provide about 0.1 to about 10 phr whey protein. The present disclosure is also directed to methods of preparing such rubber compositions and to tire components containing the rubber compositions disclosed herein.

The rubber-plastic composite foamed material of the present invention is made by mixing and foaming a plurality of components including 100 parts by weight of rubber, 5-70 parts by weight of hollow glass microspheres, 1-50 parts by weight of carbon black, 5-50 parts by weight of soften oil, 1-50 parts by weight of sulfur ointment, 0.5-10 parts by weight of antioxidant, 0.5-15 parts by weight of crosslinking agent and 2-12 parts by weight of foaming agent. By including hollow glass microspheres into the composition, the rubber-plastic composite foamed material of the present invention exhibits better compression resistance and heat retention.

A foam made of a specific material having superior properties and cosmetic products including the foam are disclosed.

A new Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain as well as a process for bacterially devulcanizing sulphur-vulcanized rubber particles and devulcanized rubber particles obtainable by the process.

A masterbatch is disclosed including a sulfide compound (A) and silica (B). The sulfide compound (A) is a chain or cyclic compound of repeating units represented by

R—S.sub.x  (I)

where R represents a linear, branched or cyclic alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms; a linear, branched or cyclic (poly)oxyalkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms; or a linear, branched or cyclic (poly)thioalkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms (wherein the alkylene group, the (poly)oxyalkylene group and the (poly)thioalkylene group are unsubstituted or have 1 or more optional substituents), and x represents an integer from 1 to 8. The number of the repeating units n is 1 to 400 and each of n repeating units is the same or different from each other. The silica (B) satisfies following conditions that: BET specific surface area is 0.1 to 200 m.sup.2/g and DBP oil absorption is 50 to 300 ml/100 g.

A process for the preparation of graphene, graphene materials, graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide and the preparation of graphene, graphene materials, graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide integrated in a thermoplastic and/or elastomeric polymer or polymer mixture by the effect of friction is produced by kneading, e.g., in an internal mixer with closed chamber or open chamber system, that performs the exfoliation of graphite, graphite oxide or reduced graphite oxide.