Investigation Influence of Styrene Butadiene Rubber on Physical, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Polypropylene Composite for 3D Printing Filaments
Received: 30 June 2025 | Revised: 31 July 2025 and 15 August 2025 | Accepted: 20 August 2025 | Online: 6 October 2025
Corresponding author: Ganjar Pramudi
Abstract
The increasing amount of tire waste has become a global environmental problem due to its non-biodegradable nature and potential to pollute the air, soil, and water. One solution is to recycle the tire waste into Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) as a filler in polymer composites for 3D printing filaments. This study aims to analyze the effect of adding SBR on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of Polypropylene (PP) composites. The methods used included extrusion and filament molding with variations in SBR mass fraction: 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. Density testing, tensile testing, thermal analysis, and morphological observation were conducted. The results show that theoretically, the density of the composite increases with the addition of SBR, but in practice, the density decreases due to the formation of voids. The increase in porosity also affects the mechanical properties. The tensile tests show an 8.8% increase in the tensile strength with a 5% addition of SBR, but a significant decrease with 10% and 15% additions due to the particle agglomeration and poor interfacial adhesion. The thermal stability decreases slightly with the addition of SBR, as seen from the earlier degradation and increased post-Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA) residue. The surface morphology becomes rougher with an increase in the SBR fraction, affecting the quality of the 3D prints. It can be concluded that the addition of up to 5% SBR improves the mechanical properties, whereas further increases in the fraction result in a decline in the material performance. This study demonstrates the potential for utilizing tire waste in the production of PP/SBR composites for 3D printing applications with the necessary formulation and process optimization.
Keywords:
Styrene Butadiene Rubber, Polypropylene, tensile strength, thermal stability, 3D printing, density, porosity, surface morphologyDownloads
References
K. Formela, "Sustainable Development of Waste Tires Recycling Technologies – Recent Advances, Challenges and Future Trends," Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 209–222, July 2021.
A. Toncheva, L. Brison, P. Dubois, and F. Laoutid, "Recycled Tire Rubber in Additive Manufacturing: Selective Laser Sintering for Polymer-Ground Rubber Composites," Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 18, Sept. 2021, Art. no. 8778.
K. D. Sharma and S. Jain, "Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Composition, and Management: The Global Scenario," Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 917–948, June 2020.
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia, S. Dabic-Miletic, V. Simic, and University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia, "Smart and Sustainable Waste Tire Management: Decision-Making Challenges and Future Directions," Decision Making Advances, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 10–16, June 2023.
M. Nadal, J. Rovira, J. Díaz-Ferrero, M. Schuhmacher, and J. L. Domingo, "Human Exposure to Environmental Pollutants After a Tire Landfill Fire in Spain: Health Risks," Environment International, vol. 97, pp. 37–44, Dec. 2016.
Z. Xiao, A. Pramanik, A. K. Basak, C. Prakash, and S. Shankar, "Material Recovery and Recycling of Waste Tyres-a Review," Cleaner Materials, vol. 5, Sept. 2022, Art. no. 100115.
E. H. Hernández et al., "Sulfuric Acid Treatment of Ground Tire Rubber and Its Effect on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Polypropylene Composites," Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 134, no. 21, June 2017, Art. no. app.44864.
A. Fazli and D. Rodrigue, "Recycling Waste Tires into Ground Tire Rubber (GTR)/Rubber Compounds: A Review," Journal of Composites Science, vol. 4, no. 3, July 2020, Art. no. 103.
H. T. Nguyen, K. Crittenden, L. Weiss, and H. Bardaweel, "Recycle of Waste Tire Rubber in a 3D Printed Composite with Enhanced Damping Properties," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 368, Sept. 2022, Art. no. 133085.
P. Wiśniewska et al., "Rubber Wastes Recycling for Developing Advanced Polymer Composites: A Warm Handshake with Sustainability," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 427, Nov. 2023, Art. no. 139010.
S. L. Duraikkannu, R. Castro-Muñoz, and A. Figoli, "A Review on Phase-Inversion Technique-Based Polymer Microsphere Fabrication," Colloid and Interface Science Communications, vol. 40, Jan. 2021, Art. no. 100329.
U. Kalsoom, P. N. Nesterenko, and B. Paull, "Recent Developments in 3D Printable Composite Materials," RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 65, pp. 60355–60371, 2016.
S. Yi, S. Xu, Y. Fang, H. Wang, and Q. Wang, "Effects of Matrix Modification on the Mechanical Properties of Wood–Polypropylene Composites," Polymers, vol. 9, no. 12, Dec. 2017, Art. no. 712.
S. Petersmann, P. Spoerk-Erdely, M. Feuchter, T. Wieme, F. Arbeiter, and M. Spoerk, "Process-Induced Morphological Features in Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing of Polypropylene," Additive Manufacturing, vol. 35, Oct. 2020, Art. no. 101384.
R. B. Kristiawan, B. Rusdyanto, F. Imaduddin, and D. Ariawan, "Glass Powder Additive on Recycled Polypropylene Filaments: A Sustainable Material in 3D Printing," Polymers, vol. 14, no. 1, Dec. 2021, Art. no. 5.
P. Borysiuk, R. Auriga, and P. Kośka, "Influence of the Filler on the Density Profile of Wood Polymer Composites," Annals of WULS, Forestry and Wood Technology, vol. 106, pp. 31–37, Jan. 2019.
V. Nguyen, D. H. Tien, Q. T. Ngo, V. Pham, B. Nguyen, and H. Nguyen, "Structural Performance and Optimization of 3d-Printed PLA Lattice Structures for Sustainable Design in Load-Bearing Applications," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 21086–21092, Apr. 2025.
S. Jang et al., "Effect of Material Extrusion Process Parameters on Filament Geometry and Inter-Filament Voids in as-Fabricated High Solids Loaded Polymer Composites," Additive Manufacturing, vol. 47, Nov. 2021, Art. no. 102313.
Y. Yusuf, N. Mustafa, Y. F. Yusoff, and D. H. Sulistyarini, "The Mechanical and Physical Properties of 3D Printing Filament Made from Recycled Polypropylene and Ground Tyre Rubber Treated with Alkali," Pertanika Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 32, no. S2, pp. 151–163, June 2024.
A. Grinys, H. Sivilevičius, and M. Daukšys, "Tyre Rubber Additive Effect on Concrete Mixture Strength," Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 393–401, June 2012.
S. H. Mohd et al., "Effects of Styrene Butadiene Rubber on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Kenaf Core Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites," IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 596, no. 1, Dec. 2020, Art. no. 012015.
X. Zhan, K. Su, X. Tuo, and Y. Gong, "Mechanical, Thermal, and Electrical Properties on 3D Printed Short Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites," ACS Applied Polymer Materials, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 3787–3795, Apr. 2024.
M. Dong, S. Zhang, D. Gao, and B. Chou, "The Study on Polypropylene Applied in Fused Deposition Modeling," presented at the 34th International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, Taipei, Taiwan, 2019, Art. no. 030059.
F. Laoutid, S. Lafqir, A. Toncheva, and P. Dubois, "Valorization of Recycled Tire Rubber for 3D Printing of ABS- And TPO-Based Composites," Materials, vol. 14, no. 19, Oct. 2021, Art. no. 5889.
M. A. Salman et al., "Effect of Nozzle Diameter and Raster Angle on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Nylon/ Carbon Fibers," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 21410–21417, Apr. 2025.
Ş. Yildizhan, F. Yel, M. A. Akar, and U. Kumlu, "Tensile and Morphological Properties of Waste Tire Rubber Granule/Polyester Polymer Matrix Composite," Çukurova Üniversitesi Mühendislik Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 773–780, Oct. 2022.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ilham Ardhiansyah, Ganjar Pramudi, Dody Ariawan, Hammar Ilham Akbar, Ruben Bayu Kristiawan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
