A novel, green route for pre-exfoliation of graphite based on a biodegradable polymer and high-power ultrasound is presented. Candelilla wax (CW), derived from the leaves of the candelilla plant, has been used for the first time as a natural non aqueous medium to induce the pre-exfoliation of expanded graphite (EG) under ultrasonic irradiation in an economical way. The proposed method uses also D-limonene as a natural organic solvent for reducing viscosity and increasing the affinity between the polar groups of EG and candelilla wax, thus improving the intercalation/exfoliation of EG. The quality of dispersion of the nanofiller in the natural wax matrix has been evaluated using multiple techniques. The addition of EG to wax and use of ultrasonic treatment leads to a reduced crystallinity, probably due to restrictions of the molecular movements, improved thermal stability of wax, and to an increased shear thinning exponent, which are all indicative of a high degree of EG dispersion. The ultrasonic dynamic mechanical results suggest a reduction in the cluster size and a better filler dispersion in the wax matrix promoted by polar or chemical reactions between the CW fractions and the graphite stacks, which was observed by XPS analysis. The results were compared to those obtained with paraffin, a synthetic wax, and confirmed the dispersion improvement obtained by using natural wax as a pre-exfoliating medium.

This paper reports on the physicochemical characterization of solid powder obtained directly from wasted tires through pyrolysis and thermal shock process. Two different processes to reduce wasted tires were performed in order to acquire the residuals in powder to be characterized and compared.During this research, three phases were observed when pyrolysis was applied to rubber: the first one a solid black phase formed by organic and inorganic compounds such as zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc sulphur (ZnS); secondly a gaseous phase containing hydrocarbons i.e. aromatic compounds and, finally, a liquid phase formed by heavy and light oils. By using X-ray diffraction technique, the relationship between temperature and the presence of inorganic compounds was determined varying the temperature of pyrolysis. In addition to X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy were used to fully characterize the samples. Comparing the results observed in both processes, it was found that thermal shock process presents some advantages over the pyrolytic, i.e. energy consume and solid black phase production; however, by pyrolytic egradation a powder richer in carbon compounds is obtained.