Floor Tiles Made from the Mixture of Para rubber and Plastic Wastes from Factories

Abstract

This research aims to develop floor tiles by mixing para rubber with ethylene vinyl acetate plastic wastes (EVA plastics) from factories. The study uses para-rubber STR 20 at 100 phr with various contents of EVA plastics (e.g. 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 phr) and then mixed with chemical substances at constant ratios including zinc oxide at 5 phr, stearic acid at 2 phr, sulfur at 3 phr, mercaptobenzothiazole at 0.5 phr and  diphenylguanidine at 0.2 phr. The samples are ground by two-roll mill and formed by compression molding at 150 degrees Celsius into 30x30x0.2 cm tiles. The properties of the para-rubber floor tiles are tested under ASTM standards. From the results, it is found that the para-rubber mixed with 10 phr of EVA plastics floor tiles is the suitable ratio for producing rubber floor tiles and rubber wall tiles in buildings. This ratio increases hardness and wear resistance properties and decreases density and thermal insulation properties when compared with the para-rubber floor tiles without EVA plastic.