Rubber is a commonly used material which comes from rubber trees, also known as Hevea brasiliensis, Ficus elastic and Parthenium argentatum (also called guayule shrub in common name) (Venkatachalam, Geetha, Sangeetha, & Thulaseedharan, 2013). Rubber is an elastic material that is useful. It is extracted from rubber trees by tapping the tree for its sap, called latex when the tree reaches an estimate of six years (Somvichian-Clausen, 2016). This tapping is done by making a spiral cut through the tree bark on days which alternate, though the tapping method and frequency varies. The latex is then harvested using cups hung on the tree under the cuts. The latex collected is then shipped as a concentrate to consumers or further processes into dry rubber (Venkatachalam, Geetha, Sangeetha, & Thulaseedharan, 2013). One manufacturing method for a technically specified rubber involves using acid to coagulate the field latex and passing the coagulated latex through a creping rollers series and cutting machines. Granulators or hammer mills transform the product to rubber crumbs, which are washed, baled, dried, screened, and packed.
The type of rubbers that are produced include crepes, technically specified rubber, ribbed smoked sheets, epoxidized natural rubber, latex, and thermoplastic natural rubber. Latex concentrates are used to produce adhesives, foam, carpet backing, and dipped products (such as condoms, balloons, and gloves). Epoxidized natural rubber is made by using peracids to treat natural rubber, and it is used to replace some synthetic rubbers such as in the making of heavy duty tires for airplanes, buses, and trucks (Venkatachalam, Geetha, Sangeetha, & Thulaseedharan, 2013). The rubber plant commercially grows in the rainforests such as South America, Southeast Asia, and African equatorial regions.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Not all rubbers are extracted from rubber trees. The substitute of this product can be made artificially from petroleum to produce the synthetic rubber (Venkatachalam, Geetha, Sangeetha, & Thulaseedharan, 2013). In conclusion, I have learned a lot about my product, but the most fascinating thing I have learned is the uses: that it is used in making dipped products such as condom (latex concentrate). That is something new to me because I was not aware of a rubber being one of the ingredients for making condom.
References
Somvichian-Clausen, A. (2016, March 1). 7 Everyday Items Made from Trees. American Forests . Retrieved October 8, 2018, from https://www.americanforests.org/blog/7-everyday-items-made-from-trees/
Venkatachalam, P., Geetha, N., Sangeetha, P., & Thulaseedharan, A. (2013). Natural rubber producing plants: An overview. African Journal of Biotechnology, 12(12).
