NATURAL RUBBER: LATEX

WHAT:
 A latex is a colloidal suspension of very small polymer (polyisoprene) particles in water
and is used to make rubber.

 Natural Rubber Latex is a milky fluid or sap found in the bark of Rubber trees (Hevea
brasilienesis). The tree’s bark has continuous vessels inside called “latex vessels”,
growing in a spiral path. It is considered a protective fluid that stays right under the
surface of the tree.
 The composition of latex sap consists of 30-40% rubber particles, 55-65% water, and
small amounts of protein, sterol glycosides, resins, ash, and sugars. Rubber has high
elasticity and a polymer molecular structure. This structure consists of a long chain
made up of tens of thousands of smaller units, called monomers, strung together. Each
monomer unit has a molecular size comparable with that of a simple substance such as
sugar. Other special chemicals are used as preservatives or stimulants during the
harvesting process.
 Both synthetic (from petroleum) and natural rubber production require the use of
vulcanizing chemicals, primarily sulfur. Fillers such as carbon black are also added to
provide extra strength and stiffness. Oil is often used to help processing and reduce
cost.


NOTE: The term “latex” basically describes any polymer in a water-based liquid or viscous state.
For instance latex paint does not contain natural rubber latex but does contain liquid synthetic
polymers. The word latex by itself does not refer to natural rubber latex.

HOW:

 It is collected by cutting a thin strip of bark from the tree and allowing the latex to exude
into a collecting vessel over a period of hours.
 Often takes half a day to fill up a container, usually a coconut shell.
 Harvesting is only done on days with no rain to ensure the latex is not diluted by
rainwater.

 Each panel of bark that is cut into will yield latex for six years. After six years, the
opposite side is cut into for six years, which allows the first side to heal. This process is
then repeated at a slightly different height on the tree. Each rubber tree will be harvested
for 24 years. After 24 years the trees stop producing as much latex. They are cut down
and the wood is used to make furniture or other items. The plantations are then
replanted with new rubber trees, thus completing the cycle.

 Hevea trees mature at five to seven years of age and can be tapped for up to 30
years. Rubber yields range around a ton per acre (2.5 tons per ha) on the larger
plantations, but yields four times as much are theoretically possible. Trees often
are rested for a period after heavy tapping.

 MANUFACTURING PROCESS (steps A-K)

1.) PLANTING

A: Seeds from high-grade trees are planted and allowed to grow for about 12
to 18 months in the nursery before a new bud is grafted to the seedling. After
bud grafting, the year-old seedling tree is cut back and is ready for
transplanting. The bud sprouts shortly after transplanting, resulting in a new
tree with better properties. Approximately 150 trees are planted per acre (375
per ha), which are cultivated and cared for until they are ready for tapping in
about six to seven years.

2.) TAPPING

B: To harvest latex, a worker shaves off a slanted strip of bark halfway

around the tree and about one third in (0.84 cm) deep. Precise skill is
required for if the tree is cut too deeply, the tree will be irreparably damaged.
If the cut is too shallow, the maximum amount of latex will not flow. The latex
then bleeds out of the severed vessels, flows down along the cut until it
 reaches a spout, and finally drops into a collection cup that will later be
drained.

C: Tapping is repeated every other day by making thin shavings just below
the previous cut. When the last scar created by the cuts is about 1 ft (0.3 m)
above the ground, the other side of the tree is tapped in similar fashion, while
the first side renews itself. Each tapping takes about three hours and
produces less than a cup of latex.

D: A tapper first collects the cut lump, which is coagulated latex in the cup,
and tree lace, which is latex coagulated along the old cut. Next, the tapper
makes a new cut. The latex first flows rapidly, then declines to a steady rate
for a few hours, after which it slows again. By the next day, the flow has
nearly stopped as the severed vessel becomes plugged by coagulated latex.

E: To prevent most of the liquid latex from coagulating before it can be

conveniently pooled and transported, the tapper adds a preservative such
as ammonia or formaldehyde to the collection cup. Both the liquid and
coagulated latex is sent to factories for processing.

F: To increase tree yields and reduce tapping times, chemical stimulants are
used. Puncture tapping, in which the bark is quickly pierced with sharp
needles, is another method that can improve productivity, since it enables the
same worker to tap more trees per day.

3.) PRODUCING LIQUID CONCENTRATE

G: About 10% of the latex is processed into a liquid concentrate by removing

some of the water and increasing the rubber content to 60%. This is achieved
either by spinning the water out of the latex through centrifugal force, by
evaporation, or by a method known as creaming. In this method, a chemical
agent is added to the latex that causes the rubber particles to swell and rise
to the liquid's surface. The concentrate is shipped in liquid form to factories,
where it is used for coatings, adhesives, and other applications.

4.) PRODUCING DRY STOCK

H: Other rubber and field latex is coagulated with acid. A giant extrusion dryer
that can produce up to 4,000 lbs (1,816 kg) per hour removes the water,
creating a crumb-like material. The dried rubber is then compacted into bales
and crated for shipment

5.) FORMING SHEETS

I: Ribbed smoked sheets are made by first diluting the latex and adding acid.
The acid makes rubber particles bunch together above the watery serum in
which they are suspended. After several hours, roughly one pound (0.45 kg) of
soft, gelatinous rubber coagulates for every three pounds (1.35 kg) of latex.
 J: The rubber is allowed to stand for one to 18 hours, then the slabs are pressed
into thin sheets through a system of rollers that wrings out excess liquid. The
final set of rollers leaves a ribbed pattern on the sheets that increases the
surface area and hastens drying. The sheets are dried for up to a week in
smoke houses before being packed and shipped.

6.) PRODUCTION OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS

K: To make rubber products, the mix is shaped by placing it in a heated mold,

which helps shape and vulcanize the material. For more complex products,
such as tires, a number of components are made, some with fiber or steel-
cord reinforcement, which are then joined together. Surgical gloves are made
by dipping a ceramic form into latex, withdrawing the form, and then drying
the latex shape.

Recovering the Rubber

•The preferred method of recovering rubber from latex involves coagulation

- adding an acid such as formic acid (HCOOH); coagulation takes about
12 hours

•The coagulum, now soft solid slabs, is then squeezed through a series of
rolls which drive out most of the water and reduce thickness to about 3 mm
(1/8 in)

•The sheets are then draped over wooden frames and dried in smokehouses
Several days are normally required to complete the drying process

Grades of Natural Rubber

•The resulting rubber, now in a form called ribbed smoked sheet, is folded
into large bales for shipment to the processor
It has a characteristic dark brown color

•In some cases, the sheets are dried in hot air rather than smokehouses, and
the term air-dried sheet is used; this is considered to be a better grade of rubber

•A still better grade, called pale crepe rubber, involves two coagulation
steps, followed by warm air drying
 Its color is light tan
 Carbon Black in Rubber
•The single most important reinforcing filler in rubber is carbon black, a
colloidal form of carbon, obtained by thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons
(soot)
Its effect is to increase tensile strength and resistance to abrasion
and tearing of the final rubber product
Carbon black also provides protection from ultraviolet radiation
Most rubber parts are black in color because of their carbon black
content

Shaping and Related Processes

• Shaping processes for rubber products can be divided into four basic
categories:
1. Extrusion
 Screw extruders are generally used for extrusion of rubber
 The L/D ratio of the extruder barrel is less than for thermoplastics, typically in
the range 10 to 15, to reduce the risk of premature cross-linking
 Die swell occurs in rubber extrudates, since the polymer is in a highly plastic
condition and exhibits the “memory”property
 The rubber has not yet been vulcanized
2. Calendering
 Stock is passed through a series of gaps of decreasing size made by a stand of
rotating rolls.
 Rubber sheet thickness determined by final roll gap.
3. Coating
 An important industrial process for producing automobile tires, conveyor
belts, inflatable rafts, and waterproof cloth tents and rain coats (impregnated
fabrics)
4. Molding and casting
 Principal molding processes for rubber are:
(1) compression molding
(2) transfer molding
(3) injection molding Compression molding is the most important technique
because of its use in tire manufacture

• Some products require several basic processes plus assembly work

 Example: tires
** 5. Roll Die process
 Combination of extrusion and calendering that results in better quality product
than either extrusion or calendering alone
 Basically, rubber extrusion followed by rolling
 Molding Processes for Rubber
•Principal molding processes for rubber are:
(1) compression molding
(2) transfer molding,
(3) injection molding

Compression molding is the most important technique because of its use in tire
manufacture

•Curing (vulcanizing) is accomplished in the mold in all three processes, this

representing a departure from the previous shaping methods, all of which use a separate
vulcanizing step

Vulcanization

The treatment that accomplishes cross-linking of elastomer molecules, so that the rubber
becomes stiffer and stronger but retains extensibility

•On a submicroscopic scale, the long-chain molecules of rubber become joined at certain tie
points, the effect of which is to reduce the ability of the elastomer to flow

A typical soft rubber has 1 or 2 cross-links per 1000 units (mers)

As the number of cross-links increases, the polymer becomes stiffer and behaves more and
more like a thermosetting plastic (hard rubber)