This work examined the effect of tire-tread
reclaimed rubber content on physical and mechanical
properties of natural rubber, vulcanized by microwave
(MW) irradiation and thermal cure (CT) systems. The
results suggested that the properties of the vulcanizates
from CT method was higher than those from MW method
except for the swelling level in toluene. The differences in
the results between these two curing systems could be
explained in terms of the density and the type of
crosslinks present in the NR compounds. The microwave
cure was more effective as the reclaimed content was
increased.