%0 Journal Article
%T Co
%A Nirmal Joshee
%A Steven C Peterson
%J Journal of Elastomers & Plastics
%@ 1530-8006
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0095244317753653
%X Carbon black (CB) is a petroleum by-product with a million ton market in the US tire industry. Finding renewable substitutes for CB reduces dependence on oil and alleviates global warming. Biochar is a renewable source of carbon that has been studied previously as a replacement for CB in styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) composites. However, biochar typically has lower carbon content, higher ash content, and larger particle size, which are all significant detractors to making biochar a viable drop-replacement for CB. In this study, high carbon and low ash biochars made from fast-growing Paulownia elongata and Populus tremuloides were co-milled with small amounts of silica in order to reduce the particle size, and the biochar/silica blends were then used to partially replace CB in SBR composites. Using this method both Paulownia and poplar biochars were able to replace 30% of the CB filler and improve elongation and toughness with virtually no loss of tensile strength, compared to the 100% CB-filled control composite
%K Biochar
%K carbon black
%K filler
%K Paulownia
%K poplar
%K rubber composite
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0095244317753653