Volume 14 Issue 2 (December 2019) ISSN: 2231-7716 DOI: http://10.24191/ji.v14i2.238 Copyright © Universiti Teknologi MARA Effect of Marble Tile Waste Powder (MTWP) Filler on Cure and Mechanical Behaviour of Natural Rubber (NR) Compound Nor Mazlina Abdul Wahab 1* , Aztikah Azman 2 , Noor Aishatun Majid 3 , Sharifah Nafisah Syed Ismail 4 , Mohd Syamaizar Mustafa 5 1,2,3,4,5 Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia Authors’ Email Address: * 1 normazlina@uitm.edu.my, 2 aztikah0208@gmail.com, 3 nooraishatun@uitm.edu.my, 4 syarifahnafisah@uitm.edu.my, 5 syamaizar@uitm.edu.my Received Date: 1 November 2019 Accepted Date: 30 November 2019 ABSTRACT As part of the increasing effort to reutilize of residue generated from industrial activities, an attempt has been made to utilize marble tile waste as a potential filler in natural rubber (NR) composite when low strength applications are required. In the experimental part, 10 μm size of marble tile waste powder (MTWP), with five different loadings up to 40 parts per hundred of rubber (phr) were used in NR composites to study the effect of MTWP loading on the cure characteristics and mechanical properties. The addition of MTWP as filler resulted in shorter cure time and scorch time which is preferable in rubber processing. It also enhanced the properties of tensile modulus and hardness while tensile strength, elongation at break and swelling ratio decreased with increasing MTWP loading. This study thus shows that MTWP can be used as economical alternative filler in NR compound and has potential as a partial replacement of reinforcing filler like carbon black in various rubber products. Keywords: natural rubber, filler, composite, marble tile waste INTRODUCTION In compounding rubber, filler is added to increase the mechanical and physical properties such as tensile strength, tear strength, hardness and abrasion resistance. Carbon black, silica, and other non-black fillers are commonly used fillers in rubber compounding. Carbon black has weak filler-filler interaction; thus, it will be easier to disperse in rubber, and this will cause increasing mechanical and physical properties of rubber vulcanizate (Ika et al., 2015). The performance of rubber can be modified by incorporation with different types of filler in consideration of various factors to develop recipe of rubber compound. One of the most important elements needs to be considered is cost. The cost must be relatively lower and at the same time, the productivity and processing time must not be affected. Therefore, recently, low cost filler which is easily obtained from agricultural, food industry and industrial waste like rice husk, eggshell, and marble tile waste have gain attention by many researchers in investigating their effects as potential replacement of conventional or synthetic filler in development of rubber compounded material. This step also tends to preserve the environment against uncontrolled pollution including water and air that give negative impact on our lives. The amount of industrial waste such as marble tiles waste should be minimized since it causes environmental problems such as water pollution and air pollution. Marble tiles waste could be found easily in the construction area. Marble waste is widely used in making roads and building construction material as the waste will form lightweight concrete, cut down the cost and increase