Patent 7425584 was granted and assigned to Alberta Research Council on September, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention relates generally to the delulcanization of rubber. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for the hydro-devulcanization of vulcanized rubber utilizing a rubber swelling solvent, a source of reactive hyrogen and elevated temperature and, optimally, also uses a dispersed molecular-scale hydrogenation catalyst that is introduced into the vulcanized rubber in a catalytically inert form that is soluable in the rubber swelling solvent.