Rubber Manufacture, Processing and

Value Addition
XPM 2119

Bandara Gajanayake PhD

Senior Lecturer
Department of Plantation Management
Faculty of Agric. and Plantation Management
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka

Rubber Manufacture, Processing and Value Addition

Evaluation Criteria
Assignments policy
Hand written answers for the questions in
assignment should be submitted on due date.
Students are expected to do and submit their
own answers to the assignment questions.
Cheating and/or copying is not tolerated,
and will result in an automatic failure for the
assignment and thus subject.

Rubber Manufacture, Processing and

Value Addition
Assignment
Q1) State the major contributing factors to the
current price drop of rubber at the Colombo
auction

Q2) A)Give the composition of natural rubber

latex and list the factors responsible for the
composition
B) Illustrate a rubber particle using a
diagram
Q3) List the parameters used in specification
test in grading technically specified rubber
and state the meaning of each parameter

Rubber Manufacture, Processing and

Value Addition
Assignment

Q4) (i) List the unit operations in the

manufacturing process of centrifuge
latex
and
(ii) briefly discuss the important
activities that need to be undertaken
under each of the unit operations

Rubber Manufacture, Processing and

Value Addition
Assignment (Cont.)
Q5) (i) Briefly explain the fractionation process
in crepe rubber processing industry and
(ii) Discuss in detail the processing steps of
technically specified rubber from field latex
Q5) (i) List the manufacturing steps of RSS
rubber
and
(ii) briefly discuss the important activities
that need to be undertaken under each of
the unit operations

Rubber Manufacture, Processing and

Value Addition
Assignment (Cont.)

Q6) Write short notes of the followings

(i) History and development of NR
based product manufacture
(ii)Vulcanization process
(iii)Importance of treating waste
water from rubber factory

Postharvest Processing of Rubber

Father of Sri Lankan rubber industry:
Sir Henry Wickham
RRI of Sri Lanka is the oldest rubber
research institute in the world and
located in
.
Rubber Technology Department of Sri
Lanka RRI is located in Rathmalana.

Postharvest Processing of Rubber

Importance of Rubber:

Rubber Prices at the Colombo Auction:

Crisis in the Rubber Industry:

Postharvest Processing of Rubber

What is Rubber:
Rubber is an elastomerthat is, a polymer that has
the ability to regain its original shape after being
deformed.
Rubber is also tough and resistant to weathering
and chemical attack.
Elastomers can be naturally occurring polymers,
such as natural rubber, or they can be synthetically
produced substances or Synthetic rubber, (such as
butyl rubber, Thiokol, or neoprene).
For a substance to be a useful elastomer it must
possess a high molecular weight and a flexible
polymer chain.

Postharvest Processing of Rubber

Composition and Structure of Latex
Chemical component
1. Dry Rubber

% by weight of latex
30 - 35

2. Proteinous substances

1.0 - 1.5

3. Carbohydrate (sugar)

4. Lipids
5. Ash
6.Water

1-2.5
1
60 - 65

The compositions of NR varies with

1. Clone A= Rubber hydrocarbon
2. Season B = Phospholipid layer
3. Soil condition C = Protein Later
4. Tapping method and frequency
5. The Age of the tree

A
B
B
C

Why the preservation of latex after

harvesting is very important?
.

Preservation of latex
Acid development in Latex
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids
Short term preservation agents
Sodium Sulphite
Ammonia
Formalin
Long term preservation agents
AmmoniaBoric Acid
ZnO ZDC (Zinc diethyldithiocarbomate)
Lauric Acid

RSS
Major form of raw rubber produced in Sri Lanka
(40%<)
Unit Operation of RSS manufacturing process
1.Latex collection
2.Standardization (Standard DRC = 12.5%)
3.Re-straining
4.Sheet washing
5.Milling
6.Coagulation
7.Dripping
8.Smoking
9.Grading and storing

Importance of Standardization of Latex in

RSS manufacturing process

Helps in achieving quality consistency of

final RSS
Gives a softer coagulum which can be easily
be sheeted
Assist in faster settling of dirt
Improve the clarity of the sheets
Bringing down the viscosity of the latex thus
distributing the chemicals added to the
latex more uniformly
Facilitate the escaping of air and
fermentation gases from the latex

Importance of each step in RSS

manufacturing process

1.Latex collection
2.Standardization (Standard DRC = 12.5%)
3.Re-straining
4.Sheet washing
5.Milling
6.Coagulation
7.Dripping
8.Smoking
9.Grading and storing

Latex Crepe Rubber/Pale Crepe

Purest form of NR in the market
Steps in manufacturing process of LCR
1.Collection and preservation of latex
2.Preliminary straining
3.Weighing of latex
4.Fractionation
5.Addition of Sodium bisulphite
6.Bulking and Standardization
7.Bleaching
8.Coagulation
9.Milling
10. Drying of laces

Concentrated Latex
Problems with preserved field latex for
direct commercial uses
1.
2.
3.
4.

Low rubber content

Very high water content
Presence of non-rubber substances
High transport cost

Unit operations in the centrifuge

latex manufacturing process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Preservation in the field

Reception of latex at the factory
Removal of Mg
Centrifuge process
Post treatment of centrifuged latex
Storage of centrifuged latex

TSR
Marketed as Standard Lanka Rubber (SLR)
Should be able to explain each steps in processing of
field latex into TSR
1. Preservation of Latex
2. Bulking
3. Coagulation
4. Initial Processing
5. Final Size Reduction
6. Blending
7. Drying
8. Pressing
9. Sampling and Grading
10.Packing

TSR
Parameters used in specification tests for
grading TSR
1. % Dirt content (amount of dirt reflecting the
purity)
2. % Ash content (mineral matter)
3. % Volatile matter content (how much water)
4. % N content (protein content)
5. Initial plasticity (hardness)
6. Plasticity Retention Index (PRI) [measure of
oxidizibility of rubber]
7. Colour (colour and purity)

Water Use in Rubber Factories

Plentiful of water is required for the manufacture
of rubber
- 30-50 L per kg of pale crepe
- 50-60 L per kg of block rubber
Dilution of latex
Washing away the serum substances
Preparation of solutions of chemicals
Cooling the mills
Cleaning the factory
The required quality of water varies with the
stage of manufacture

Waste Water in Rubber Manufacturing

NR plays a key role for both economic
development and industrial pollution.
Pollution happened mainly due to discharge of
untreated effluents into the surrounding area
There are over 160 raw rubber processing
factories producing mainly
Crepe rubber
Sheet rubber (RSS)
TSR
Centrifuged latex*
The nature of the effluent depends very largely
on the type of raw rubber manufactured

Amount of Pollutant
Amounts of pollutants and their
concentration depends on variety of
factors
Clone
Process
End product
Amount of dilution
DRC adjustment

Waste Water in Rubber Manufacturing

Average Effluent Quality Parameters

Product Type

pH
5.7

Typical
BOD
1600-1800

Total
Solids
1900

Block
Sheet

4.9

2600

3750

Crepe

5.0

200-400

3500

Latex
Concentrate

3.74.5

3000-4000

750013000

Importance of Dissolved Oxygen

NR
Pollution

Pollutant Abatement
Amounts

Abatement Protocols
Mandatory task
Many methods are used and the treatment
systems can be divided into
Primary : Recover rubber and remove large
particles through Screening, Floating, and
Sedimentation
Secondary : Involves reducing the BOD of
dissolved material. Basically a biological
process in which microorganisms digest
the pollutants
Tertiary : Provides the water a final polish
before releasing. Done in extensive open
ponds where aquatic life can be
established