Hassarutai Yangthong

Education:

• B. Sc. (Rubber Industry Management) Prince of Songkla University, Thailand
• Ph. D. (Rubber Technology) Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Research interests:

1) Rubber Composites
2) Alternative chemicals for rubber

Natural rubber (NR) is a green polymer and the main economic crop of Thailand. It has been used as material for several applications. For the specific applications, NR needs to be mixed with fillers to improve the drawback of NR. The most important fillers for rubber industry are conventional synthetic fillers as carbon black and silica. However, the production of these conventional fillers is highly energy-consuming. Therefore, alternative fillers from renewable resources are considerable interest to use in the rubber industry for multiple purposes, including reinforcement, improved processing, and reduced material costs.

Recently, I have applied fly ash from power plant as alternative filler and activator in term of geopolymer (GP) for rubber composites. It was found that GP enhanced the cure characteristics and mechanical properties of the NR vulcanizates. In addition, faster curing was observed because of acceleration by the metal oxide impurities in GP. 100% modulus and tensile strength increased with the addition of GP, due to the physical and chemical interactions of GP and rubber molecules.

My interest now focuses on applying of industrial wastes or by-products such as fly ash, or other wastes from industry (i.e., rice husk ash and oil palm ash), and various natural fibers as alternative filler, accelerator, or activator to reduce or replace commercial chemicals in rubber recipe.

Publications:

1. Yangthong, H.; Pichaiyut, S.; Jumrat, S.; Wisunthorn, S.; Nakason, C. Novel natural rubber composites with geopolymer filler, Adv. Polym. Technol., 2018, 37, 2651-2662.
2. Yangthong, H.; Pichaiyut, S.; Jumrat, S.; Wisunthorn, S.; Nakason, C. Mechanical, thermal, morphological, and curing properties of geopolymer filled natural rubber composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2019, 136, 47346.
3. Yangthong, H.; Wisunthorn, S.; Pichaiyut, S.; Nakason, C. Novel epoxidized natural rubber composites with geopolymers from fly ash waste, Waste Manag., 2019, 87, 148-160.
4. Yangthong, H.; Pichaiyut, S.; Wisunthorn, S.; Kummerlöwe, C.; Vennemann, N.; Nakason, C. Role of geopolymer as a cure activator in sulfur vulcanization of epoxidized natural rubber, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2020, 137, 48624.
5. Yangthong, H.; Nun-anan, P.; Faibunchan, P.; Karrila, S.; Limhengha, S. The enhancement of cure and mechanical properties of natural rubber vulcanizates with waste Aquilaria crassna wood. Industrial Crops and Products, 2021, 171, 113922.
6. Faibunchan, P.; Yangthong, H.; Nun-anan, P.; Karrila, S.; Limhengha, S. Effects of processing parameters on the properties of fully bio-based poly (butylene succinate-co-adept) and epoxidized natural rubber blend filled with agarwood waste: A taguchi analysis. Polym. Test., 2022, 107, 107497.