Sustainable Management of Nitrile Butadiene Rubber Waste Through Pyrolysis

Kasun Pathiraja, Helitha Nilmalgoda (), Isuru Wijethunga and Kaveenga Koswattage
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Kasun Pathiraja: Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka
Helitha Nilmalgoda: Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka
Isuru Wijethunga: Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka
Kaveenga Koswattage: Centre for Nanodevice Fabrication and Characterization, Faculty of Technology, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Many industries use synthetic rubber for various industrial purposes; thus, disposal of synthetic waste rubber into the environment causes huge environmental problems. A feasibility study to convert synthetic Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) waste into valuable products using batch-type slow pyrolysis will benefit small- to medium-scale industries in their waste handling. The main objective of this research was to find sustainable waste management and energy solutions for synthetic NBR waste using pyrolysis technology. This study employed a two-phase experimental approach where the first five preliminary experiments were conducted to assess the thermal decomposition behavior of NBR waste. In the second phase, three experiments were conducted to quantify the yields of pyrolysis products: pyrolysis oil, solid char, and syngas. The results reveal that the weight distribution of pyrolysis oil, solid char, and syngas was 39.00%, 42.91%, and 18.09%, respectively. Moreover, density, heating value, flash point, and viscosity were analyzed to investigate the quality of the pyrolysis oil, where it was found to be 972.50 kg/m 3 , 42.50 MJ/kg, 36.50 °C, and 25.44 cP, respectively. Analysis of the syngas composition revealed that carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, oxygen, and C n H m were 14.14%, 5.04%, 18.69%, 11.08%, 0.02%, and 10.00%, respectively. The heating value of syngas was 3873.70 Kcal/m 3 . The carbon footprint analysis indicated that a significant reduction is possible in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional incineration. Additionally, a cost benefit analysis highlighted the superior cost effectiveness of pyrolysis over incineration of NBR waste. These findings underscore the potential of pyrolysis as an effective tool for sustainable waste management and energy recovery solutions.

Keywords: Nitrile Butadiene Rubber; bio-oil; syngas; waste rubber; flashpoint; higher heating value (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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