When was rubber made

Unfortunately, the natural form of rubber is sticky, crumbly, and smelly, therefore its use was limited throughout the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Due to its increased demand, especially for motor vehicle tires, the introduction of a special type of sulfur based rubber processing, called vulcanization, was introduced in by Charles Goodyear. Soon thereafter synthetic rubber was invented as a way to keep up with the demand for sturdy rubber products.

Today, there have been numerous additional advancements in the procurement, processing, and production of rubber throughout the world. Used in industry, vehicle manufacturing, and in securing other types of smaller mechanical parts, rubber continues to be a necessary component of modern life. Toggle navigation. Rubber - History of Rubber. But, on plantations where rubber trees grow very closely together, it can become lethal.

Second of all, an important threat to the natural rubber market is the very competitive and fast-growing market for palm oil and its side products. There is an increasing demand for both rubber and palm oil but, in Malaysia, the area in which Hevea brasiliensis is being grown is not decreasing, however, the area dedicated to grow oil palm is increasing. If the continuous growth of oil palm plantations does not stop, either the natural forest or the Hevea plantations will have to get smaller to make room for new crops of oil palms.

And last but not least, rubber tapping is a not well-paid job and it is difficult work. Young people tend to choose more attractive work, which could result in a shortage of skilled rubber tappers. The latex proteins in rubber made from Hevea brasiliensis can produce severe allergies in certain people, even when they are exposed to very small amounts.

The latex proteins are very difficult to separate from the rubber in the purification process. Since these allergies can be so dangerous, an alternative to rubber that does not contain these latex proteins would be advantageous. The conditions needed to grow these rubber trees are very specific and only occur in certain areas in the world. Most of our natural rubber is produced in a small region of Asia, making the supply vulnerable to damage.

It would be helpful to be able to find other plants producing rubber that can be grown in other areas of the world. Not all rubber-containing plants produce good-quality rubber. Some plants that have been considered as alternative rubber sources are guayule, Russian dandelion, rubber rabbit brush, goldenrod, sunflower, fig tree, and lettuce.

Two of these plants seem to be the best alternatives to Hevea brasiliensis : guayule and Russian dandelion. Guayule Parthenium argentatum is a native shrub of the north plateau region of Mexico, which usually grows in limestone soils in areas with very low rainfall Figure 3C. Guayule grows best when temperatures are between 18 and Under these conditions, it can live for 30—40 years. Rubber is found in the stems and in the roots of guayule, and it is found in the individual cells of the plant, instead of in latex vessels or tubes.

The rubber content of guayule increases over a period of several years. Rubber from this plant is studied for biomedical applications, because it does not cause allergies. In order to extract the rubber from the plant, guayule tissue must be thoroughly softened and smashed up to free the rubber particles contained in the individual cells.

The quality of rubber from guayule is not good enough for all uses, because it has more impurities than does rubber from Hevea brasiliensis. The other good option for rubber, Russian or Kazak dandelion Taraxacum koksaghyz , is a fast-growing plant with a high-quality rubber that was discovered in in Kazakhstan Figure 3D. Kazak dandelion grows very close to the ground, can be grown in regions with mild temperatures, and produces yellow flower heads they look like a flower but they are a dense group of small flowers without stem.

Kazak dandelion contains rubber in the leaves, flowers, and roots, but only rubber in the roots is good for extraction, due to its higher quality and quantity. For rubber extraction , Russian dandelions must be either pressed or mixed [ 5 ]. Kazak dandelions have another advantage—they also produce a carbohydrate called inulin, which is a substance that can be used in foods as well as the production of medicines against cancer, biofuels, or even bioplastics plastics made out of natural products.

At this point, it is still too expensive to extract the rubber from Kazak dandelions. Through research, a plant with bigger root and higher rubber content can hopefully be developed.

Even though the rubber tree is the best source of rubber available today, it is facing some important threats. Rubber is only produced from plants that grown in certain unique areas. In order to expand the sources of natural rubber and avoid the dangers of limited production, we should search for new rubber-containing plants and improve the ones already known, to try to make them economically competitive.

In some plants it also contains rubber. It is economically very important because the latex collected from the tree is the primary source of natural rubber. The United States was less advanced as the world war of opened in Europe.

The United States quickly realised that rubber was a strategic resource. It began an intensive research programme to develop the chemistry and construct factories to make synthetic rubber. The only project to take precedence over the synthetic rubber project was the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb.

The materials developed in these intense wartime programmes were focused on materials to make tyres: SBR, and BR. However, rubber is used in more than tyres. In a scientist at DuPont, Wallace Carothers developed chloroprene rubber.

Carothers was later to develop Nylon, or polyamide. In scientists tried replacing the styrene in SBR with acrylonitrile to make a highly oil-resistant elastomer which they christened Buna-N and is now termed nitrile rubber or NBR.

In Exxon now ExxonMobil Chemical developed butyl rubber, which is especially good at air-retention. In Exxon set up the first factory for a rubber made from ethylene and propylene. That was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. EPDM is especially good at resisting ozone and ultra-violet light. In the following years a wide range of elastomers were developed.

Some have good resistance to ozone while others have superb temperature properties or excellent resistance to oil. Whatever properties you need, let SPC compounders develop your ideal material to deliver the right combination of in-service properties, ease of processing and, of course, cost.

History of rubber Rubber has been used for thousands of years. That discovery triggered a rubber boom. So attractive that it was only a matter of time before the Amazonian monopoly would be broken. Germany made plans to develop synthetic alternatives.