The Latex Extract of Nypa Futicans

As an Alternative Rubber

SCIENCE INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

2013-2014

MAHILUM,DENS LISTER M.

RESEARCHER

Mrs. EMELY GIMENA

ADVISER
Abstract
 Acknowledgement

The researcher would like to acknowledge our almighty God that gave the

researcher such knowledge and guidance in making this research. Without our almighty

God this research would not be satisfied.

To my parents who are giving the researcher a financial support and allowing the

researcher`s research to be done in their residence.

To Mrs. Emely Gimena our adviser, who shared her ideas and knowledge on us.

To my friends who are my daily companions, thank you for your great time

helping the researcher in making his research work.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

Abstract - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2

Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3

Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -4

Chapter I – Introduction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - 5
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The invention of the wheel long age helps the ancients in transporting their

products. As time goes by, the discovery of rubber revolutionize the means of

transportation and it replaces the old wooden wheel that the ancient used.

(http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/science/science02.htm)

Rubber is a very useful king of thing. It can be stretch but it can`t easily

break. It is used as a tire in cars, motorcycles, and in other kinds of vehicle. Tire is

very durable material if this is damage, it can be easily repaired, because rubber

when heated can be stretch easily and it can be processed again and back to its

original form.

(http://www.heustonline.com/uses.htm)

Rubber is derived from the latex extract of a rubber tree. It is then

processed to make a rubber and use to form different kinds of material. In our

country especially in our own town rubber tree is a rare kind of tree.

Nipa palm is a species of palm native to the coastline and estuarine

habitats of the indian and pacific ocean. The long feathery leaves of nipa palm is

used by local populations as a roof material. The leaves are also used in many

types of basketry and thatching. It`s latex extract has a rubber characteristics
 when it dries. This study focuses on the making of an alternative rubber using the

latex extract of Nypa Fruticans.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipa_palm)

B. Statement of the problem, Objective and Hypothesis

B.1 Statement of the problem

This study attempted to determine the components of latex extract of the

Nypa Fruticans that made it as an alternative rubber and especially to answer the

following questions:

a. What are the significant components of Nypa Fruticans that made it as an

alternative rubber?

b. Do the alternative rubber that derive from the latex extract of Nypa Fruticans

have the same with the commercial one?

c. Do the alternative rubber can be made into different kind of a material like the

commercial one?
 B.2 Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to make an alternative rubber out of the

Nypa Fruticans latex extract in compared to the commercial one.

1. To determine the significant components of Nypa Fruticans that made it an

alternative rubber.

2. To determine the durability of the alternative rubber compared to the

commercial one.

3. To determine the quality of the alternative rubber compared to the commercial

one.
B.3 Research Hypothesis

Based on the forgoing research problems, the researcher formulated the

following hypothesis:

Ho 1. There are no significant components of Nypa Fruticans that made it an

alternative rubber.

Ho 2. There is no significant difference between the durability of the alternative

rubber and commercial one.

Ho 3. There is no significant difference between the quality of the alternative

rubber and commercial one.

C. Theoretical and Conceptual frame work.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Experimental set-up Rubber Characteristics

Nypa Fruticans latex extract Elasticity, durability,

flexibility , quality

An effective alternative and

durable rubber.

Figure 1 Conceptual and paradigm of the study

 D. Significance of the study

This study supports the local use of the latex extract of the Nypa Fruticans to

produce an alternative rubber. The latex extract of Nypa Fruticans produced an

alternative rubber with the same capability of the commercial one.

It would be beneficial to the following:

Poor persons: Persons who can`t afford to buy a commercial rubber.

Company owners: Persons who are interested in the new source of alternative

products.

Engineers: Persons who can make their study a new discovery of alternative rubbers

for the new and enhanced technology.

E. Scope and Limitation of the Study

The researcher focused on the latex extract of Nypa Fruticans as an alternative

and effective rubber. The researcher conducted his research at Mahilums`s residence,

P-2 Bonifacio San Jose, Dinagat Islands.

And the subject of the experiment is only focused on a effective, achievable,

cheap and alternative rubber.

F. Review of Related Literature

Nypa fruticans, commonly known as the nipa palm, is a species of palm

native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It

is the only palm considered adapted to the mangrove biome. This species is the

only member of its genus Nypa which is in turn, the only member of the

subfamily Nypoideae forming monotypic taxa. The nipa palm has a trunk that

grows beneath the ground and only the leaves and flower stalk grow upwards

above the surface. Thus, it is an unusual palm tree, and the leaves can extend up

to 9 m (30 ft) in height. The flowers are a globular inflorescence of female

flowers at the tip with catkin-like red or yellow male flowers on the lower

branches. The flower produces woody nuts arranged in a globular cluster up to

25 cm (10 in) across on a single stalk. The ripe nuts separate from the ball and are

floated away on the tide, occasionally germinating while still water-borne.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipa_palm)

Latex is the stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an

aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic. It can be made

synthetically by polymerizing a monomer such as styrene that has been emulsified

with surfactants.
 Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering

plants (angiosperms). It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids,

starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins, and gums that coagulates on exposure to air.

It is usually exuded after tissue injury. In most plants, latex is white, but some

have yellow, orange, or scarlet latex. Since the 17th century, latex has been used

as a term for the fluid substance in plants. It serves mainly as defense against

herbivorous insects. Latex is not to be confused with plant sap; it is a separate

substance, separately produced, and with separate functions.

The word is also used to refer to natural latex rubber particularly non-

vulcanized rubber. Such is the case in products like latex gloves, latex condoms

and latex clothing. Many people are allergic to rubber latex.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latex)

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, as initially

produced, consists of suitable polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with

minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water. Forms of polyisoprene

that are useful as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers. Currently, rubber is

harvested mainly in the form of the latex from certain trees. The latex is a sticky,

milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid

in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into rubber ready

for commercial processing. Natural rubber is used extensively in many

applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In

most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio, high resilience, and is

extremely waterproof.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber)

Synthetic rubber, invariably a polymer, is any type of artificial elastomer

mainly synthesized from petroleum byproducts. An elastomer is a material with

the mechanical (or material) property that it can undergo much more elastic

deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size

without permanent deformation. About 15 billion kilograms of rubbers are

produced annually, and of that amount two thirds is synthetic. [1] Global revenues

generated with synthetic rubbers are likely to rise to approximately US$56 billion

in 2020.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_rubber)

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or

solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical

reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as

carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (such as CO and CO2), and cyanides

are considered inorganic. The distinction between organic and inorganic carbon
compounds, while "useful in organizing the vast subject of chemistry... is

somewhat arbitrary."

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compound)

A polymer /ˈpɒlɨmər/ is a large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of

many repeated subunits, known as monomers. Because of their broad range of

properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play an essential and ubiquitous

role in everyday life. Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such as

polystyrene (or styrofoam) to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins that

are fundamental to biological structure and function. Polymers, both natural and

synthetic, are created via polymerization of many monomers. Their consequently

large molecular mass relative to small molecule compounds produces unique

physical properties, including toughness, viscoelasticity, and a tendency to form

glasses and semicrystalline structures rather than crystals.

The term "polymer" derives from the ancient Greek word πολύς (polus,

meaning "many, much") and μέρος (meros, meaning "parts"), and refers to a

molecule whose structure is composed of multiple repeating units, from which

originates a characteristic of high relative molecular mass and attendant

properties. The units composing polymers derive, actually or conceptually, from

molecules of low relative molecular mass. The term was coined in 1833 by Jöns

Jacob Berzelius, though with a definition distinct from the modern IUPAC

definition. The modern concept of polymers as covalently bonded

macromolecular structures was proposed in 1920 by Hermann Staudinger, who

spent the next decade finding experimental evidence for this hypothesis.

Polymers are studied in the fields of biophysics and macromolecular

science, and polymer science (which includes polymer chemistry and polymer

physics). Historically, products arising from the linkage of repeating units by

covalent chemical bonds have been the primary focus of polymer science;

emerging important areas of the science now focus on non-covalent links.

Polyisoprene of latex rubber and the polystyrene of styrofoam are examples of

polymeric natural/biological and synthetic polymers, respectively. In biological

contexts, essentially all biological macromolecules—i.e., proteins (polyamides),

nucleic acids (polynucleotides), and polysaccharides—are purely polymeric, or

are composed in large part of polymeric components—e.g., isoprenylated/lipid-

modified glycoproteins, where small lipidic molecule and oligosaccharide

modifications occur on the polyamide backbone of the protein.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer)

An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (colloquially "elasticity"),

generally having low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with

other materials. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used

interchangeably with the term rubber, although the latter is preferred when

referring to vulcanisates. Each of the monomers which link to form the polymer is
usually made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and/or silicon. Elastomers are

amorphous polymers existing above their glass transition temperature, so that

considerable segmental motion is possible. At ambient temperatures, rubbers are

thus relatively soft (E~3MPa) and deformable. Their primary uses are for seals,

adhesives and molded flexible parts. Application areas for different types of

rubber are manifold and cover segments as diverse as tires, shoe soles as well as

dampening and insulating elements. The importance rubbers have can be judged

from the fact that global revenues are forecast to rise to US$56 billion in 2020.

Elastomers are usually thermosets (requiring vulcanization) but may also

be thermoplastic (see thermoplastic elastomer). The long polymer chains cross-

link during curing, i.e., vulcanizing. The molecular structure of elastomers can be

imagined as a 'spaghetti and meatball' structure, with the meatballs signifying

cross-links. The elasticity is derived from the ability of the long chains to

reconfigure themselves to distribute an applied stress. The covalent cross-linkages

ensure that the elastomer will return to its original configuration when the stress is

removed. As a result of this extreme flexibility, elastomers can reversibly extend

from 5-700%, depending on the specific material. Without the cross-linkages or

with short, uneasily reconfigured chains, the applied stress would result in a

permanent deformation.

Temperature effects are also present in the demonstrated elasticity of a

polymer. Elastomers that have cooled to a glassy or crystalline phase will have
less mobile chains, and consequentially less elasticity, than those manipulated at

temperatures higher than the glass transition temperature of the polymer.

It is also possible for a polymer to exhibit elasticity that is not due to

covalent cross-links, but instead for thermodynamic reasons.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastomer)

A colloid is a substance microscopically dispersed throughout another

substance.

The dispersed-phase particles have a diameter of between approximately 1

and 1000 nanometers.[2] Such particles are normally invisible in an optical

microscope, though their presence can be confirmed with the use of an

ultramicroscope or an electron microscope. Homogeneous mixtures with a

dispersed phase in this size range may be called colloidal aerosols, colloidal

emulsions, colloidal foams, colloidal dispersions, or hydrosols. The dispersed-

phase particles or droplets are affected largely by the surface chemistry present in

the colloid.

Some colloids are translucent because of the Tyndall effect, which is the

scattering of light by particles in the colloid. Other colloids may be opaque or

have a slight color.

 Colloidal solutions (also called colloidal suspensions) are the subject of

interface and colloid science. This field of study was introduced in 1861 by

Scottish scientist Thomas Graham.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloid)

Mangroves are various types of trees up to medium height and shrubs that

grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly

between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The remaining mangrove forest areas of the

world in 2000 was 53,190 square miles (137,760 km²) spanning 118 countries and

territories. The word is used in at least three senses: (1) most broadly to refer to

the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove

forest biome, mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, (2) to refer

to all trees and large shrubs in the mangrove swamp, and (3) narrowly to refer to

the mangrove family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifically just

to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora. The term "mangrove" comes to

English from Spanish (perhaps by way of Portuguese), and is likely to originate

from Guarani. It was earlier "mangrow" (from Portuguese mangue or Spanish

mangle), but this word was corrupted via folk etymology influence of the word

"grove".

The mangrove biome, or mangal, is a distinct saline woodland or

shrubland habitat characterized by depositional coastal environments, where fine

sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas protected from high-

energy wave action. Mangroves dominate three-quarters of tropical coastlines.

The saline conditions tolerated by various mangrove species range from brackish

water, through pure seawater (30 to 40 ppt(parts per thousand)), to water

concentrated by evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater (up to 90

ppt).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove)
 CHAPTER II

METHODOLOGY

A. Method of the Research Design

The latex extract of Nypa Fruticans as an Alternative Rubber is done

through an experimental design. Applying the steps/processes to make an

alternative rubber that have a characteristics of the commercial rubber.

B. Materials and Equipments

Clean empty bottle

Clean small basin

Commercial rubber

Knife

Loads

Nypa Fruticans (latex)

Strainer

C. General procedure

C.1 Preparing the set-up for Dependent Variable

First the researcher carefully selected few commercial rubber to be

tested. The commercial rubber is then place to a table; one end of the

rubber is attached to the table while the other end is attached with loads.

The researcher accurately measured the stretched distance of the rubber

until it reached its breaking point. Then the researcher recorded the results.

C.2 Preparing the set-up for Independent Variable

The researcher selected a healthy Nypa Fruticans to be extracted.

After the researcher sliced the Nypa Fruticans body, a good latex comes

out, then the researcher carefully filled the latex into a clean empty bottle.

When a certain amount of Nypa Fruticans latex is already extracted, the

researcher again filled it into a clean basin. The researcher allowed the

latex to dry naturally in a room temperature. After about 2-3 hours of

drying (a rubber like material is produced) the latex is already ready for

the next step. The researcher continuously stretched the elastic material

making a many small strand of rubber. When the elasticity is satisfied the

researcher compressed the material into a one strand rubber. Then the

researcher analyzed the characteristics of the rubber.

D. Research Design

This study is designed to make an alternative rubber using only the latex

extract of Nypa Fruticans. And help to find other sources of rubber. To introduce a

new knowledge in our modern world.

E. GANTT CHART

ACTIVITIES JANUARY FEBUARY MARCH

WEEK 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH
Making

Hypothesis
Review of

Related

Literature
Preparing

the

Dependent

Variable
Preparing

the

Independent

Variable
Analysis

CHAPTER III
 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION

The table below shows the data interpretation of the commercial rubber

compared with the alternative rubber. Each data is accurately measured by the

researcher.

KIND OF ELASTICIT FLEXIBILIT DURABILIT QUALIT

RUBBER Y Y Y Y
COMMERCIA 68 cm 20 cm Very durable Good

L RUBBER condition
ALTERNATIV 15.4 cm 3.6 cm Not durable

E RUBBER (easily break) Not

Figure 2 Table of the Data collected.

CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

 The researcher found out that the commercial rubber has a high quality material

compared to the alternative one.

The hypothesis of this research is rejected.

The researcher concluded that if the latex material will be mix with an elastic

enhancer the alternative rubber would be a success.

CHAPTER V

RECOMMENDATION
 The researcher recommended to use the latex extract of Nypa Fruticans with an

elastic enhancer that will make the Alternative rubber enhanced its durability and quality.

The researcher also recommended finding other source of alternative rubbers that are

very common here in our town.

CHAPTER VI

REFERENCES AND DOCUMENTATION

A. DOCUMENTATION

B. REFERENCES

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove)
 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloid)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastomer)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compound)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_rubber)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latex)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipa_palm)