Of the three categories, skim rubber contains the most
rubber solids and has the most potential to be
commercially viable. To that end, MTEC launched an
R&D program to develop a new process for recovering
rubber solids from skim rubber. However, initial research
suggested that such a process would be difficult to
commercialize. With this in mind, a chance request by an
industry partner involved in the project led to a shift to
focus on recovering rubber solids from sludge instead of
skim. Although it would have a lower yield,
commercialization would be much easier.