Under the general trend of global sustainable development, the silicone rubber materials industry also faces the pressure and opportunities of transformation and upgrading. Achieving the sustainable development of silicone rubber materials is not only related to environmental protection and resource utilization but also has far - reaching significance for the long - term competitiveness of the industry and the sustainable development of society. Currently, the industry is actively exploring various paths to promote the sustainable development of silicone rubber materials, but many challenges are also faced in this process.

Recycling and reuse is one of the important paths for the sustainable development of silicone rubber materials. Traditional silicone rubber products are mostly discarded or incinerated at the end of their service life, resulting in resource waste and environmental pollution. To change this situation, researchers are committed to developing effective silicone rubber recycling technologies. Pyrolysis is a relatively advanced recycling method. It decomposes waste silicone rubber into reusable small - molecule monomers or oligomers under specific high - temperature and high - pressure conditions. These decomposition products can be reused to synthesize new silicone rubber materials, realizing the recycling of resources. However, the pyrolysis process has high requirements for equipment and consumes a large amount of energy, and cost control has become a major challenge for the large - scale application of this technology. In addition, chemical degradation is also under research. By using specific chemical reagents, the silicone rubber molecular chains are cut to convert them into recyclable raw materials. But this method requires finding efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical chemical reagents, and at the same time, solving the problems of separation and purification of degradation products. Currently, there is still room for improvement in terms of technical maturity and cost - effectiveness.
The adoption of green processes in the production process is also the key to achieving the sustainable development of silicone rubber materials. Traditional silicone rubber synthesis processes often require the use of a large number of organic solvents and catalysts. These substances may produce volatile organic compound (VOCs) emissions during the production process, causing pollution to the environment. To change this situation, the concept of green chemistry has been introduced into the silicone rubber production field. The water - based synthesis process, as an emerging green process, uses water as the reaction medium, replacing traditional organic solvents. This not only reduces VOCs emissions but also reduces safety risks such as fires and explosions. However, the water - based synthesis process still needs to be further optimized in terms of reaction rate and product purity to reach a level comparable to traditional processes. In addition, the development of efficient and non - toxic catalysts is also an important research direction for green processes. Currently, some new biological catalysts and nanocatalysts are under research and are expected to be industrially applied in the future, thereby improving production efficiency while reducing harm to the environment.
Integrating the concept of sustainability into the product design stage is also indispensable. When designing silicone rubber products, the disassembly, recyclability, and service life of the products should be fully considered. For example, using modular design enables silicone rubber products to be easily disassembled into various components after being scrapped, facilitating classified recycling. At the same time, by optimizing the product structure and material selection, the service life of silicone rubber products can be extended, reducing the replacement frequency of products and thus reducing resource consumption. However, in actual operation, it is not easy to balance the relationship among product performance, cost, and sustainability. Excessive pursuit of sustainability may lead to a decline in product performance or an increase in cost, affecting the market competitiveness of products. Therefore, how to find the best balance among the three in product design is a major challenge faced by enterprises.


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