Effect of SBS Compatibilizer SBS and Particle size on Mechanical Properties of Blends of PS/Waste Rubber (SBRr)

One way to modify the properties of polymer systems is to mixture one or more polymer and/or copolymers, i.e., to obtain polymer blends. The aim of this work was to produce polymer blends from a polystyrene matrix with rubber wastes, aiming to study the effect granulometry and compatibilizer on the mechanical properties and impact strength. The blends of polystyrene/rubber wastes were prepared in a corrotacional twin screw extruder and subsequently the extruded granules were injection molded. It was shown that 5 wt% of the SBS compatibilizer optimized the results of impact strength for ternary blends. The elastic modulus of the systems decreased in relation to modulus of the pure polystyrene matrix. The granulometry influenced significantly the property of impact resistance for the compatibilized blends, with a finer rubber particle size that have the best results. These results show a good alternative for toughening of polystyrene, as well as reduce costs using rubber wastes that would otherwise be discarded.