The potential use of fly ash (FA) originating from lignite combustion at the Belchatow Power Plant (Poland) as filler for rubber mixes was evaluated. Samples of fly ash collected from heaps created in different years were compared according to their chemical and phase composition, particle size distribution, and morphology. The sieve fractionation of fly ash results in size fractions of different chemical structures, phase compositions, and morphologies, reflected in changes to their specific surface area, surface energy, and activity in rubber mixes. Fractionation turned out to be more effective than grinding from the point of view of using ash as a filler for rubber mixes, because it results in higher specific surface area (SSA) and chemical composition differentiation. Carbon black can be replaced by up to 40% by weight with the fly ash fraction (FFA) of dimensions below 125 µm, without any significant deterioration in the mechanical properties of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) vulcanizates filled with 50 phr of active carbon black (N 220). Despite the larger fly ash fraction of grain dimensions in the range between 125 and 250 µm presenting the highest specific surface area, the particle size adversely affects its strengthening effect in rubber. Taking into account all the tests performed, ranging from morphology, Payne effect and bound rubber, to mechanical and abrasion tests, the highest potential effectivity is presented by a sample containing 30 phr of N 220 and 20 phr of FFA of grain sizes from 63 to 125 µm. The obtained results indicate that fractionation seems to be an effective physical method of fly ash valorization.
Keywords: characterization; fly ash; fractionation; mechanical properties; rubber vulcanizates.