Synthesis of valuable intermediate products from natural rubber under supercritical alcohol conditions

In this study, thermal liquefaction of natural rubber was performed using different alcohols to produce valuable intermediate product. The experiment was conducted in autoclave reactor at different temperatures (250-375 degrees C), different solvent-to-natural rubber mass ratios (0.5:1 to 4:1), and at different reaction times (15-75 min.). The results showed the maximum liquid yield of 89.53 wt.% was obtained by using propanol at optimum conditions. Around 51.23% and 10.65% of liquid comprised of D-limonene and Isoprene respectively, which are being used as potential feedstock in different industrial sectors. Besides these compounds, the liquid product also consisted other hydrocarbon such as aromatics, alkyls, and alkene with high HHV (46 MJ/kg), and low oxygen contents (1.02%). These properties make this liquid suitable to be used for substitution the conventional fossil fuels. In addition, alcohol solvents played an important role to facilitate the liquefaction process by providing milder process conditions and hydrogen donor. Among the solvents, propanol has significant improvement on the liquid yield, solvent recovery and energy density.