Q. What is natural rubber and synthetic rubber?
A. Natural rubber is the rubber produced from the rubber tree (Hevea brasillinsis). When the tree matures, the latex from the tree is collected from a diagonal incision in the tree trunk. The tapping process does not destroy the tree and the tree wound later heal itself. Synthetic rubber is man made rubber produced from petrochemicals and other compounds. Crude oil is the principal raw material for producing synthetic rubber.
Q. What is latex?
A. Latex is the protective fluid extracted from rubber tree. It is contained in tissue beneath the bark of the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. Latex is cloudy white liquid and looks similar to cows milk.
Q. How is latex collected?
A. Latex is collected by cutting a thin strip of bark from the rubber tree and allowing the latex to exude into a collecting vessel over a few period of hours.
Q. What Is EPDM Rubber ?
A. EPDM is a synthetic rubber polymer and is made from ethylene and propylene monomers. This rubber was developed in the early 1960’s and used to produce variety of products like radiator and steam hoses, freezer gaskets, tires, roofing membranes and aircraft seals to name only a few.
Q. What is silicone rubber?
A. Silicone rubber is a type of synthetic rubber made from silicone. This type of rubber has high flexibility resilience and tensile strength over a wide temperature range.
Q. Why is rubber used to produce industrial products?
A. Rubber has certain unique properties which makes it suitable to produce rubber products which are widely used in various industrial applications. Rubber is water repellent. It is resistant to alkalies and weak acids. Rubber has elasticity, toughness, impermeability, adhesiveness, and electrical resistance. These properties make rubber useful as an adhesive, a coating composition, a fiber, a molding compound, as well as an electrical insulator.
Q. How is synthetic rubber superior to natural rubber?
A. Synthetic rubber has the following advantages over natural rubber:
- better aging and weathering
- more resistance to oil
- resistance to solvents, oxygen, ozone, and certain chemicals
- resilience over a wider temperature range
Q. What is sponge rubber?
A. Sponge rubber is a kind of soft, porous rubber which is used in making toys, cushions, gaskets, and weather stripping and as a vibration dampener. It is prepared by adding to ordinary rubber a powder that forms a gas during the process of vulcanization.
Q. Can Natural Rubber be used for manufacturing rubber products which may contact human body?
A. Yes. Rubber products made from latex of natural rubber is used for medical treatment and examination and they are normally treated in an additional process of the production line in order to reduce the extractable protein content of the product. Rubber products made of solid natural rubber usually contains very low level of extractable protein as compared to the natural rubber latex products. This is because of the many washing processes the latex has to go through before becoming solid (dry) rubber. Therefore, rubber products made of solid (dry) natural rubber do not normally cause any kind of allergy problem, particularly when contact to human body is minimum.
Q. What is SBR?
A. Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) is a synthetic copolymer composed of styrene and butadiene and is the most widely used type of synthetic rubber. SBR has similar resistance to solvents and chemicals like natural rubber, but can also be successfully bonded to a wide range of materials. It is widely used in the manufacturing of tires.