3 Reasons Why Synthetic Rubber Was Invented are explained in this article. We do hope that you find the article informative and educative.
Reasons Why Synthetic Rubber Was Invented
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Natural rubber comes from the rubber tree as a latex which is converted into various products. Synthetic rubber also known as chemical rubber is artificially made from petroleum, coal, natural gas, or acetylene.
Natural rubber is obtained from a rubber tree called Hevea Tree. Raw rubber occurs as latex which is a milk-colored liquid from the rubber tree.
The latex which is found under the bark of the tree is collected through tapping. When the latex is heated, it changes into a solid elastic solid which can be used to produce tyres, erasers, rubber bands, and chairs. The latex can also be pressed to produce crape which is used to make the sole of shoes.
The rubber can be improved upon through vulcanization. This is a process whereby sulfur is added to the raw rubber and the compound is heated to make the rubber harder, more elastic, durable, and able to withstand high temperatures.
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Synthetic Rubber
Synthetic rubber is an artificially made rubber. It is made of chemical substances from coal, gas, and acetylene. Different synthetic rubbers have emerged showing different applications such as chemical and mechanical properties.
Synthetic rubbers are packed as compressed bales and square blocks. There are also produced in the form of powder rubber, talcum-coated chips, granules, and latex concentrate in liquid form.
The benefits of synthetic rubber compared with natural rubber include the following: better oil, temperature resistance, and constant quality.
3 Reasons Why Synthetic Rubber Was Invented
Furthermore, there are a number of reasons for the development of synthetic rubber. These include:
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1. Rising prices of natural rubber
Due to the increase in the price of natural rubber, synthetic rubbers are designed from chemical properties at a lower price.
Political events cut customers off the suppliers of raw materials: When there is a political event, the demand for rubber exceeds the available raw materials.
Thus artificial rubber production helps to bridge the gap to avoid insufficient rubber production.
2. Long transportation distances
On many occasions, the location of a rubber plantation is exceedingly far away from the site where the rubber is produced. Using artificial rubber, the chemical substances can be simply obtained from coal, petroleum, or gas to manufacture rubber.
3. Constraints in establishing rubber plantation
Planting a rubber plantation is not so easy in Nigeria. These trees have an environmental preference which means it does not grow easily in any environment especially because of the weather and climate changes.
For rubber plantations to be successful, one has to carry out research to know if the weather and climate will be suitable for the growth of rubber plantations.
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Increase in global demand for rubber: Despite that other substitute for rubber has been established but there is still an incremental demand for rubber globally. Rubber serves a lot of purposes and globally there are products from rubber that are widely used.
The common ways of producing artificial rubber have the following processes. Using crude oil, it is refined into another form called Naphtha. Thus, Naphtha has monomers such as Butadiene, styrene, Ethene, etc. The production of synthetic rubber in the synthetic rubber industry.
