Asphalt formulations containing ground tire rubber and/or plastics can be modified by polymers, oligomers, and waxes made from polymeric material. The addition of polymer, oligomer, or wax can improve stability of ground tire rubber and/or plastic in the asphalt leading to lower formulation costs for polymer modified asphalt producers. In addition, these stable formulations can reduce risk of rutting, and cracking in asphalt roads. The polymer, oligomer, or wax can be made by catalytic depolymerization and/or thermal degradation of polymeric material. The polymeric material can be polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, a combination of polypropylene and polyethylene or recycled plastics.

Preparing a microbially desulfurized crumb rubber includes combining microorganisms capable of breaking crosslinked sulfur bonds, sulfur-containing crumb rubber, and a salt solution to yield a mixture; combining a buffer with the mixture to yield a buffered mixture, thereby adjusting a pH of the mixture; providing oxygen to the buffered mixture; incubating the buffered mixture for a length of time to yield a microbially desulfurized mixture; combining the microbially desulfurized mixture with bitumen to yield a precursor; and heating the precursor to yield the microbially desulfurized crumb rubber. The microbially desulfurized crumb rubber can be combined with bitumen to yield a modified bitumen. The modified bitumen can be combined with asphalt to yield a modified asphalt.

The present invention refers to a polymer composite that comprises sand preferably medium, at least a load, at least a resin selected from among dicyclopentadiene polyester resin (DCPD) and resin PET and at least a phase-compatibilizing additive and/or flexibilizing agent of the polymer structure. Further, the present invention refers to process of preparing said composite besides the use of said composite for preparing some articles including sleepers. This composite presents several advantages when compared to the materials used today for preparing sleepers as it is more versatile than steel, more available and as effective as wood, more durable than the concrete as it comprises an optimized composition that combines ideal physical-chemical properties to exercise the function for which it was intended.

The present disclosure provides for articles formed of a filled polymeric resin material. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to polymeric resin materials that include a filler that includes of a mixture of cured rubber granules, foam granules, and/or textile fibers. The filler can be suspended in and/or encapsulated by the polymeric resin material. The polymeric resin material, the filler, or both can include waste or scrap material from manufacturing or from ground post-consumer waste.

A first method for generating a solubilized tire rubber bitumen compound is described. The first method begins by heating a first bitumen compound and a tire rubber compound to generate a bitumen wetted tire rubber mixture. The method includes adding a second bitumen compound to the bitumen wetted tire rubber mixture to generate a fully wetted tire rubber bitumen mixture. The method then proceeds to generate a devulcanized fully wetted tire rubber bitumen mixture, which is heated with mixing to between 500° F. and 700° F. to generate the solubilized tire rubber bitumen compound. Additionally, a second method for generating a solubilized tire rubber bitumen compound is described. The second method includes heating a first bitumen compound and a tire rubber compound to generate a devulcanized tire rubber bitumen mixture. The devulcanized tire rubber bitumen mixture is heated to generate a bitumen wetted devulcanized tire rubber mixture. Then, a second bitumen compound is added to generate a fully wetted devulcanized tire rubber bitumen mixture, which is heated to between 500° F. and 700° F. to generate the solubilized tire rubber bitumen compound.

A method of combining rubbers and plastics when injection molding, and compositions usable in injection molding, are shown and described. Comminuted rubber from waste tires and waste plastics including any of high density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene are combined and heated to melt at least the plastics. In one optional approach, both are melted. Plastics comprise from twenty to eighty percent by weight of the mixture, with rubber accounting for the balance. The mixture may be fortified with bonding, compatibilizing, and strengthening agents. The compositions may be cooled and pelletized for immediate use in injection operations.

A solution to the two major problems that exist today, on the one hand, by recovering the textile fibers extracted from the recycling and Processing of ELTs and, on the other hand, by providing the asphalt paving industry with an alternative mixture with superior performance to that of existing conventional mixtures. More specifically, a granulated additive based on textile fibers and rubber powder from end-of-life tires, having (a) 20% to 30% of textile fiber composed mainly of polyamide or polyester fibers, which together are of the order of 10% by weight of an ELT, (b) 20% to 50% of asphalt binder, (c) 25% to 45% of rubber powder from end-of-life tires in a fraction smaller than 0.5 mm, and (d) 3% to 10% of rubber powder from end-of-life tires in a fraction smaller than 0.18 mm. In addition, the method for obtaining same and its use in asphalt mixtures.

Thermoplastic elastomers comprising micronized or pulverized rubber powders are disclosed having physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. For example, the use of finer mesh MRP (e.g., particles of size that would pass through 40 mesh or smaller) to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. Similarly, the use of a glycidyl functional terpolymer (optionally in combination with trimellitic anhydride or “TMA”) to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers comprising MRP results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. Moreover, the use of styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene thermoplastic (e.g., “SEBS”) in place of the base polypropylene thermoplastic elastomer to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers comprising MRP also results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers.

A method of recovering nitrile rubber from water-containing crumbs includes crumb-like nitrile rubber using an extruder in which a screw is disposed inside a barrel so as to be capable of being rotationally driven. The barrel is formed with at least a washing zone. The method includes supplying washing water to the washing zone at a water pressure of 0.2 MPa or higher while mixing the crumb-like nitrile rubber and the supplied washing water in the washing zone, thereby washing the crumb-like nitrile rubber.

Crumb rubber obtained from recycled tires is subjected to an interlinked substitution process. The process utilizes a reactive component that interferes with sulfur bonds. The resulting treated rubber exhibits properties similar to those of the virgin composite rubber structure prior to being granulated, and is suitable for use in fabricating new tires, engineered rubber articles, and asphalt rubber for use in waterproofing and paving applications.