Article | REF: AM8015 V1

Natural Rubber

Author: Claude JANIN

Publication date: September 10, 2017, Review date: June 18, 2024

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


Overview

Français

ABSTRACT

This article presents various aspects of natural rubber, from its production to its use and recycling. The originality of this material and its specific properties in its raw or vulcanized state are highlighted and help explain its irreplaceability, in particular for tires.

Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.

Read the article

AUTHOR

  • Claude JANIN: Consultant - Former Scientific Director of the Rubber and Plastics Research and Control Laboratory LRCCP - Former Materials Research Director MICHELIN – Clermont-Ferrand France

 INTRODUCTION

Natural rubber NR (Natural Rubber) is a material of plant origin, derived from rubber cultivation. Its structure and properties distinguish it from SR (Synthetic Rubber), which is produced from petroleum derivatives. The word "rubber" comes from the union of two Indian words, cao and tchu, which together mean "weeping wood".

Rubber is harvested by tapping the rubber tree:

  • in liquid form; this is latex, an emulsion of 35 to 40% by weight of rubber in water; stable in a basic medium. This rubber latex is either concentrated and preserved in liquid form, or transformed into sheet by coagulation;

  • in solid form by letting it coagulate in the buckets where the latex is received.

In 2015, natural rubber production totaled 12.2 million tonnes (Mt). It should reach 15 Mt by 2020. Synthetic rubber production stood at 14.5 Mt. .

In 2015, natural rubber-producing countries were Thailand (4.5 Mt), Indonesia (3.1 Mt), Vietnam (1.0 Mt), China (0.80 Mt), Malaysia (0.7 Mt), India (0.6 Mt) and Côte d'Ivoire (0.35 Mt).

Rubber prices are relatively variable. After being historically low in the early 1990s ($0.5/kg), the price rose above $1.5/kg from 2000 onwards, reaching $6/kg in 2011 and then falling back to $1.5/kg in 2015. Natural rubber is subject to a partly speculative economy. High selling prices in 2011 led to significant replanting activity (which then declined in 2013).

Natural rubber is mainly used in tires (over 70% of production). Some is used in formulations for anti-vibration applications. Another part is used for medical and paramedical applications (gloves, condoms, etc.) which use rubber in liquid form.

You do not have access to this resource.

Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference

A Comprehensive Knowledge Base, with over 1,200 authors and 100 scientific advisors
+ More than 10,000 articles and 1,000 how-to sheets, over 800 new or updated articles every year
From design to prototyping, right through to industrialization, the reference for securing the development of your industrial projects

KEYWORDS

pneumatic   |   vulcanization   |   lattice


This article is included in

Functional materials - Bio-based materials

This offer includes:

Knowledge Base

Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees

Services

A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources

Practical Path

Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills

Doc & Quiz

Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading

Subscribe now!

Ongoing reading
Natural rubber