The Special Materials Group (SMG) promoted by ARTIS held its second annual seminar in London on the 18th January.
Membership Continues to Grow for SMG
In just one short year SMG has, through cooperation with its members achieved a great deal of growth in both membership and reach of its achievements.
Introduced by Chief Scientist Martyn Bennet and Dr. Chris Norris from ARTIS, the seminar heard of progress made in understanding recovered Carbon Black and how the SMG was looking to expand its interests into other sectors of the recycled rubber sector, and indeed into other materials, possibly including composites, where there may be synergies in recycling and new products.
The Seminar closed with an open discussion on where SMG should be looking at future projects – one area that received considerable discussion was the need for specifications for rCB, a standard that could be used as a reference, at least, for measuring the PAH content of rCB.
It was argued that here were already standards however, it was evident that the standard PAH test was set at too low a temperature and that when rCB was utilised in compounding and vulcanising processes it often reached far higher temperatures and it was then that the PAH were released. Some improved method of measuring the PAH content would be a positive move that coul possibly be taken to the ASTM committee on rCB.
