Studies with Shungit

Studies with Shungit – a non-Petro versatile economic filler for tire & non – tire application

A.Chakravarty & S.N.Chakravarty
KPS Consultants & Impex Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (India)
E-mail: kpsimpex@airtelmail.in

Shungit are natural composite materials having unusual structure, consist of uniformly distributed highly dispersed crystalline silicate particles in amorphous carbon matrix (Ref.1). It’s main component is fullerene like Shungit carbon (upto 80%). There is strong bond between carbon and silicate components. Shungit are characterized by high density, chemical stability and electrical conductivity. Shungit in finely ground state can partly replace carbon black and Silica in rubber compound (Ref. 2, 3 & 4 ).

Work on usage of Shungit as filler in rubber and polymers (Ref.5), polymer Composite (Ref.6), different rubber products (Ref. 7 & 8) have been reported in the literature.

Studies with Shungit, a non petro based performance carbon filler, in additional quantity to Carbon black in typical automotive tire carcass, bead & apex and tread compounds as well as against pptd. Silica, as part replacement in typical tire tread compounds have been carried out and reported here.

Basic properties of Shungit

Shungit consists of ~ 30% globular, X-ray amorphous and metastable carbon and of ~70% highly dispersive silicate particles. According to X-ray characteristics Shungit carbon is a non-crystalline form of carbon with a graphitic structure. Fine Shungit powder is characterized by heat conductivity, heat capacity, electric conductivity & diamagnetic properties, microwave absorption effect. On the surface of Shungit particles there is a certain quantity of solvent-extractable organic substances that may perform the role of “internal” plasticisers or processing aids (Ref.2, 3 & 4). These have been identified as aliphatic compounds by NMR analysis.

Basic properties and composition of Shungit is given in Table 1 (Ref.2 &3)
Rubber industry uses three categories of fillers to reach the balance between the processing properties of rubber compounds, technical properties of vulcanizates and cost.: (i) reinforcing, (ii) semi-reinforcing and (iii) cost-reducing. In terms of the overall physico-chemical properties and structure-dispersion parameters Shungit can be classified as filler belonging to category ii and iii, but their function in rubber compounds extends further.

For detail results you may refer to Rubber World, Aug. 2008, Vol. 238, No. 5, p 27-32

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