What Can You Make From Natural Rubber?
Introduction: Why Natural Rubber Products Are Important and Versatile
Products made with natural rubber have a wide range of uses across many different industries. Natural rubber comes from the sap of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, with some unique properties that can be found in no other material. It is known for being extremely stretchy with excellent wear resistance and elasticity. Natural rubber is the basis of many products we use every day. It’s also the basis of a lot of products that are essential for automotive and medical industries. This article will help you understand the different products made with natural rubber, identifying products you might not have thought would have products made with natural rubber, and answering common questions about using this material.
Section 1: Questions People Ask About Natural Rubber
- What Do You Use Natural Rubber For?
Natural rubber is a material that you use across a wide range of industries because of its mechanical properties. For example, in the automotive industry, it is the main material for making tires for cars, trucks, and airplanes because of its durability and its elasticity. It is also used for making seals, gaskets, and bushings that dampen vibrations and withstand some twisting, turning, or movement to maintain performance. You also use it in the hoses that carry fuel as well as the belts that turn engines. These belts have to twist somewhat (as they go around the engine pulleys) and still have to be able to operate regardless of the temperature outside.
- In construction, you use natural rubber to waterproof things. You use it for anti- vibration pads. You use it for pads in commercial buildings to keep the building from vibrating in case of an earthquake. You use it to cushion against things that are dropped or to put under motors or other electrical equipment.
In healthcare, you use it for things like gloves and catheters. You want to use something that’s very stretchy if you’re wearing gloves because it has to be tight so that nothing gets through them. It also can’t irritate your skin if it’s worn for an extended period of time or will disturb the normal formation of proteins. You also use it for gaskets and seals. There are lots of industries that use natural rubber all over the place. - Is Natural Rubber The Same Thing As latex?
Natural rubber and latex are almost the same thing, but they’re not exactly, exactly the same thing. Latex is the white fluid that comes out of the Hevea brasiliensis trees down in Southeast Asia. Latex is a colloidal suspension of rubber particles in water. Natural rubber is what you take if you do the processing and coagulation of that latex and dry it out into the white stuff you see in different hardnesses in boxes and packages. When you buy natural rubber bands, those were part of the latex that they dried out. If you buy liquid latex that you put in a glove and you elongate it and let it dry, that’s using natural rubber but you haven’t done anything to it to make it into solid rubber yet.
Section 2: What Industries Use Natural Rubber And How Do They Use It?
- The Car Business
a. Tires.
b. Seals, gaskets, and bushings.
c. Hoses and belts. - Industrial Stuff
a. Seals and gaskets.
b. Back belts.
c. Adhesives and paints. - And Then The Health And The Consumer Stuff
a. Medical stuff like gloves and catheters.
b. Just like all the stuff you’ve got in your house.
c. Toys and kid’s balloons. - Finally, The Construction And Agriculture Business
a. Waterproofing and isolation and mechanical stuff in the construction business.
b. Agriculture, all the hoses, tubing, and stuff because of all the stuff you’ve got to worry about in solar farms and how you move the stuff around and keep it operating.
Section 3: Why Natural Rubber Is So Great And How Is It Green?
- Good Stuff About Natural Rubber
a. Stretchy.
b. Strong.
c. Resistant to wear.
d. Good For The Environment. - Natural Rubber Is Green
a. It’s a renewable resource and we get it from trees and they grow back.
b. A well-maintained rubber plantation can contribute to absorbing environmental carbon.
c. There’s a lot of work being done on sustainability in processing and certainly keeping the trees in good shape.
Section 4: Things To Look For
- New Applications
a. Electrical car stuff.
b. Wind farm things.
c. Space sealant. - Put Some Thinking Into Rubbery Things
a. Sustainable production.
b. Blending rubber.
Closing: Natural Rubber Is A Big Deal
Our lives would not be the same without natural rubber. It is a material that helps us and a material offers ideas and insights into better respecting the environment. Be nice.
