Aqueous Dispersion of Rice Husk Powder as a Compatible Filler for Natural Rubber Latex Foam

摘要

Rice husk powder (RHP) which is a fibrous agricultural waste is widely used as potential filler, novel adsorbent or coating for dry polymers. However, the compatibility of RHP with natural rubber latex (NRL) is yet to be studied. The main goal of this reported work was to create a method to incorporate RHP with NRL and achieve a compatible dispersion. However the amorphous silica content (acidic nature) in RHP makes it difficult to directly incorporate RHP to NRL compound. In this research, RHP was modified by adding ammonia, distilled water and dispersing agents to make an aqueous compatible alkaline dispersion for NRL. Also the particle size of RHP is reduced up to - 300micron to make it more compatible with the NRL. The compatibility of modified RHP is analyzed by sedimentation with time, particle size analyzer, pH and morphology study. The test results supports that modified RHP is more compatible with the NRL compound to obtain a stable foam in NRLF preparation.