Preparation of new thermoplastic elastomer composites by using natural rubber based latex gloves and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) and investigation of their damping properties

In the aim of this thesis is recycling of latex glove wastes occured as a result of excess or faulty production to useful products. Powdered latex gloves were mixed with poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). In order to investigate the effect of latex glove amount on mechanical and damping properties, 8 different EVA-latex mixtures was prepared. Mechanical and damping properties of these mixtures were investigated. The results obtained from EVA-latex mixtures showed that the increase in the amount of EVA in the structure caused a increase in mechanical and damping properties. The main purpose of the thesis is to enhance the recovery of waste latex glove by keeping it at high amount in the mixture. In order to increase the compatibility between EVA and latex, it was decided to grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) onto EVA and lateks. End of the mechanical analysis we observed that elastic modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break were increased with MAH grafting. According to the values obtained from compression tests, the energy values absorbed by the grafted mixtures increased. The highest energy damping was observed in the grafted 40% EVA and 60% latex containing mixture. As a conclusion, grafting with MAH has a significant affect on mechanical and damping properties of composite systems. End of the all these studies, significant improving on the mechanical properties were obtained as a result of the compatiblization of EVALAT-g-MAH composite systems with MA and the recovery of waste latex gloves as a useful product like a tartan track surface.