What are Rubber products?

There are many rubber products which we come across in our daily life. Some common rubber-
based objects that we encounter in our day-to-day lives include rubber gloves, rubber bands, and
rubber footwear. Rubber items have the ability to recover their shapes after being stretched or
distorted, which is the reason why rubber can be classified as an elastomer. Rubber is an elastic
substance which can be obtained both naturally (natural rubber) or artificially (they can also be
synthesized chemically in laboratories; synthetic rubber-like butyl rubber, neoprene, etc.)

Types of rubber

There are two primary types of rubber, namely natural rubber and synthetic rubber.

Natural rubber

These are the elastomers which are obtained naturally. Natural rubber is made up of solid
particles suspended in a milky white liquid (called latex) that drips from the bark of certain
tropical and subtropical trees. This latex rubber is mainly found in countries like Brazil, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. It is made by the polymerization of isoprene (2 methyl-1, 3-
butadiene) which has a chemical formula (C5H8) n and it is known as cis- 1, 4- polyisoprene. In
simple words, we can say that they are made by loosely joining the monomers of isoprene (C5H8)
in the form of a long tangled chain.

Preparation of Natural Rubber:

 Rubber tapping – The milky white liquid latex is collected from the rubber trees in a cup
by making a slight V-cut on the tree bark. The collected latex is washed, filtered and
reacted with acids to congeal the rubber particles.

 Mastication – The rubber obtained from the tapping process is still not ready to be used.
When it is cold it is very brittle in nature and when warmed up it becomes very gluey. To
remove the brittle nature and strong odour of the rubber, it is allowed to pass through the
rollers and is pressed to make it softer and flexible to work. This process is repeated
based on the properties that are required for the rubber. In this process, extra chemical
ingredients are also added to enhance the properties of rubber.
  Calendering is a process which is mainly performed to provide shape to the rubber using
rollers (after proper mixing of the chemical ingredients).

 The final product obtained is then extruded to make hollow tubes by passing them
through specially designed holes in an extrusion machine.

 Vulcanization – Performing all the steps listed above will not yield rubber that is strong
or hard enough to be used in items like car tires and machinery. To enhance all these
properties, sulphur is added to the rubber and it is heated at a temperature ranging from
373 K to 415 K. This process is known as vulcanization. The sulphur acts as a cross-
linking agent and after vulcanization, rubber gets cross-linked and becomes hard.

Synthetic rubbers

Synthetic rubbers are produced from petroleum and natural gas. It is obtained by polymerization
of 1, 3 – butadiene derivatives or by copolymerization of 1, 3 – butadiene along with an
unsaturated monomer.

Preparation of synthetic rubbers:

Neoprene (Polychloroprene): –

The monomer of Neoprene is 2-chloro-1,3-butadiene, it is commonly known as chloroprene.

Neoprene is a polymer of chloroprene, which is formed by joining together the monomers of
chloroprene.

Buna- N:-

It is a copolymer of 1, 3 – butadiene and acrylonitrile, it is formed in the presence of a peroxide

catalyst.

Uses of Rubber

Rubber can be used for various rubber and across various platforms, a few of them are
mentioned below;

 It is used for lining chutes, bins and industrial mixers. Because of its water-proof and
resilient property, it can be made into a good insulator.
 In the clothing industry, it can be used as wetsuits and expandable clothes such as gym
and cycling shorts etc.
  Rubbers are also used for flooring purposes it gives padding and prevents fatigue along
with being waterproof and slip-resistant.
 In the automobile industry, its use can be witnessed in tires, padding in brakes, airbags,
seats, roofs etc.
This article only provides a brief introduction to the preparation of rubber products. To know
more about natural rubber products and how they are made, register with BYJU’S and download
our app.

Frequently Asked Questions-FAQs

Q1

1. What is the difference between natural and synthetic rubber?

Natural rubber is polyisoprene in which monomer units are of isoprene i,e 2-methyl-1,3
butadiene. Natural rubber is obtained in the form of solid particles suspended in a milky white
liquid (called latex) that drips from the bark of certain tropical and subtropical trees. Neoprene is
a synthetic rubber. The monomer of Neoprene is 2-chloro-1,3-butadiene, it is commonly known
as chloroprene.
Q2

2. What is vulcanisation rubber with an example?

Vulcanization is a chemical process in which the natural rubber is heated with sulphur,
accelerator and activator at 373-415 K. Vulcanised rubber is better than natural rubber in the
sense that it is more elastic, has less Water absorbing tendency and is more resistant to oxidation
and towards organic solvent.
Q3

3. What is natural rubber used for?

Natural rubber is made up of solid particles suspended in a milky white liquid (called latex) that
drips from the bark of certain tropical and subtropical trees. It is used in medical devices,
surgical gloves, aircraft and car tires, pacifiers, clothes, toys, etc.
Q4

4. What are the disadvantages of natural rubber?

The disadvantages of natural rubbers are quite less resistant to attack by organic acid. It has little
durability. When stretched to a greater extent, it suffers permanent deformation.
Q5
5. What are synthetic rubber examples?

Synthetic rubbers are produced from petroleum and natural gas. It is obtained by polymerization
of 1, 3 – butadiene derivatives or by copolymerization of 1, 3 – butadiene along with an
unsaturated monomer.

What is Synthetic Rubber?

Any artificial elastomer is referred to as synthetic rubber.

Synthetic rubber is usually derived from additional polymers of polyene monomers and, unless
the synthetic rubber is disclosed as a polysulfide rubber, laminates containing such a layer will
be classified with additional polymers.

An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more elastic
deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size without
permanent deformation. Synthetic rubber serves as a substitute for natural rubber in many cases,
especially when improved material properties are required.

History of Synthetic Rubber

The expanded use of motor vehicles and particularly motor vehicle tires, starting in the 1890s
created an increased demand for rubber. In 1909, a team headed by Fritz Hofmann working at
the Bayer laboratory in Elberfeld, Germany succeeded in polymerisation Isoprene, the first
synthetic rubber.

By 1940, the United States was stockpiling natural rubber, effectively doubling its normal
imported amount of around a half million tons a year. In 1941, Japan occupied South East Asia
cutting off supplies of natural rubber to the United States. In its first response to this supply
crisis, the U.S government ordered the planting of tens of thousands of acres of guayule. This
shrub which thrives in the western parts of the United States and in Mexico also contains rubber
latex. It has the disadvantage of yielding the rubber only with difficulty; the plant must be
ground up and extracted, thus requiring a constant supply of new plants.

By the end of the war, petroleum served as the base for synthetic rubber, as it would in the
postwar years. The manufacturing process for using petroleum was more complex but on average
petroleum was also cheaper. Progress was rapid. B.F.Goodrich has done early work in synthesis
and became the largest producer of synthetic rubber during the war. US firms built fifty-one
synthetic rubber factories between 1942 and 1945. During the same period, production climbed
from 24,640 tons of synthetic rubber in 1942 to more than 784000 tons in 1945.

Synthetic Rubber vs Natural Rubber

Natural Rubber Synthetic Rubber

The rubber which is obtained from The rubber which is prepared artificially, which is man-
natural sources such as plants and made is termed synthetic rubber. Synthetic rubber holds a
animals is called natural rubber. wide range of applications in daily life as well as in
industries.

cis-1,4-polyisoprene Neoprene, styrene-butadiene rubber etc.

In November 1948, natural rubber became more freely available with a resulting lower price. It
remains to be seen if synthetic rubber, on a quality and uniformity basis, will continue to be
consumed voluntarily under the present price relationship of natural and synthetic rubber.

A considerable lag exists between the time of purchase and the time of consumption and prices
may vary substantially in that period. The test will come when lower-priced natural
rubber becomes more readily available and begins to enter into quantity consumption in
manufacturing establishments.

Uses of Synthetic Rubber

 Synthetic rubber is preferred over natural rubber for some uses if the price difference is not too great.
 The transport industry is the largest user of rubber for the production of tires.
 Rubber is used by the construction industry in elevator belts, hoses, tubes, seismic bearings etc.
 Industries which produce consumer goods use rubber to make good footwear, erasers and sports, etc.
 Polyisoprene synthesis is the artificial rubber which has identical properties with those of natural
rubber in the chemical composition of ingredients used in its manufacture.
Frequently Asked Questions on Synthetic Rubber
Q1

How do you make synthetic rubber?

Synthetic rubber production begins with oil, coal, or other hydrocarbon processing. Naphtha is
produced during the refining process. The naphtha is extracted and can then be mixed with
natural gas to create monomers such as styrene and isoprene, essential for the manufacturing of
synthetic rubber.
Q2

What are the different types of synthetic rubber?

The various types of synthetic rubber include neoprene, Buna rubbers, and butyl rubbers, and
they are generally developed for specialist applications with specific properties. Styrene-
butadiene rubber and butadiene rubber (both of which are Buna rubbers) are commonly used in
tire production.
Q3

Where is a synthetic rubber used?

Synthetic rubber is used in tires, clutches, engine bearings, conveyor belts, industrial goods, and
seals for drinking water. Acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR): this rubber is resistant to fuel and
oil, has good temperature properties and is resistant to abrasion.
Q4

Why is natural rubber better than synthetic?

A benefit of natural rubber over synthetic rubber is that it has higher tensile strength, higher tear
resistance and low odour compared to synthetic rubber. Furthermore, synthetic rubbers can have
excellent heat resistance, lower temperature resistance and improvements in heat ageing.
Q5

Is synthetic rubber renewable?

The downside is that synthetic rubber is not biodegradable at all because it consists of inorganic
materials. Because natural rubber is plant-based, it is biodegradable, and a renewable resource,
which is the key advantage. Rubber is awe-inspiring. That way, rubber has been harvested for
over 3,500 years.