SO MANY TYPES OF RUBBER
A good question with no simple answer. It depends on the type of rubber. For instance, there is natural rubber but there are also many types of synthetic rubber. This article provides a brief overview of what these different types of rubber are made of.
Rubber is a polymer that is both elastic and resilient. It is used in a wide range of products, such as car and bicycle tyres, buffer blocks, packings, mattresses, baby dummies and much more!
always the right type of rubber
Most of us are familiar with the iconic images of rubber trees with white sap flowing from cuts in their bark, and natural rubber is indeed extracted from this white sap. As natural rubber grew increasingly popular, the demand for synthetic rubber arose. Unlike natural rubber, synthetic rubber is not a natural product; it is derived from petroleum. A big advantage of synthetic rubber over natural rubber is that it can be formulated to achieve other properties. This makes it possible to create the perfect type of rubber for specific applications.
rubber in a tree
Natural rubber is a remarkable polymer because it originates in nature. Sap is tapped daily from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree, approximately 33% of which consists of rubber known as latex. This milky fluid is a mixture of proteins and water-saturated rubber particles.
synthetic polymers
Synthetic rubber is made from components of crude oil, bonded together by means of a chemical process to form a synthetic polymer (rubber). It was developed in the US as an alternative to natural rubber when that commodity became scarce.
One of the best known types of synthetic rubber is SBR, which is used for the production of car tyres, among other things. Other synthetic rubber polymers include EPDM, NBR en FKM (Viton).
enhancing properties
To give the final rubber product specific properties, chemical substances – known as additives – are introduced during the blending process. These substances are added to both natural and synthetic rubber.
Examples of additives include vulcanising agents, fillers, colouring agents, preservatives and plasticisers. But how do these additives affect the properties of the rubber?
Whitepaper
Download
the whitepaper
