Table 1.1 - Production and Consumsion Comparison of Natural Rubber and Synthetic Rubber
Average number of synthetic rubber entrepreneur, realise that total use of natural rubber cannot increase without decreasing the total number of request of synthetic rubber. The world industries still need both types of rubber. These two types of rubbers have their own marketing share. They are not actually killing or fighting each other fully, but they have complementary nature towards each other.
Types of Natural Rubber
There are various types of natural rubber. The most common or well-known is the processed rubber. Processed rubber have some done and some half-done. Types of natural rubbers are:
Conventional Rubber ( Ribbed Smoked Sheet, White crepe and Pale crepe, estate brown crepe, compo crepe, thin brown crepe re-mills, thick blanket crepe ambers, flat bark crepe, pure smoke blanket crepe, and off crepe)
Concentrated Latex
Block Rubber
Crumb rubber
Tyre rubber
Reclaimed rubber
Processed Rubber Material
This rubber is a plantation rubber as it is made out of a lump of plantation latex recovered by a tree called Hevea Brasiliensis. There are 4 types of processed tuber material:
Plantation Latex
Wind Sheet
Thin Slab
Fresh Lump
I.Plantation Latex
Plantation latex is liquid latex that can be gained from tapping the rubber tree. This liquid will group together with or without stabilizer (anti-coagulant agent). Plantation latex also has requirements to reach the marketing standard.
The requirements are:
It needs to be filtered using 40 mesh strainer/filter.
No leaf, branches or other dirt.
It is not mixed with latex slurry, water or latex’s serum.
It is white in colour and smells like fresh rubber.
Class 1 plantation latex contains 28% dry rubber content and Class 2 plantation latex contains 20% dry rubber contain.
II.Wind Sheet
This is the filtered and blobbed with formic acid processed rubber material. It has already been milled but just not done yet. There are also requirements for wind sheet to reach the marketing standard.
These requirements are:
Latex need to be milled and blobbed to release water or its serum.
Mill development is used as the last milling.
Dirt cannot be visible.
While storing, it cannot be exposed to direct sunlight and water.
III.Thin Slab
It is a processed rubber material that is blobbed using formic acid. There are also requirements to reach the marketing standard.
Not mixed with not fresh blub.
Water or serum has to be released by milling or compression.
Dirt is not visible.
While storing, it cannot be exposed to direct sunlight or water.
Thin slab class 1 has 70% dry rubber content and thin slab class 2 has 60% dry rubber content.
First level of thickness is 30mm and second level of thickness is 40mm.
IV.Fresh lump
Processed rubber material that is not made out of plantation latex happens naturally inside a bowl. Fresh lump also have requirements to meet the marketing standard.
These requirements are:
Dirt cannot be visible.
While storing, it cannot be exposed to direct sunlight or water.
Fresh lump class 1 has 60% of dry rubber content and fresh lump class 2 has 50% of dry rubber content.
First level of thickness is 40mm and second level of thickness is 60mm.
Conventional Natural Rubber
There are types of processes rubber that falls under conventional natural rubber. These processed rubbers are what you call “crepe” and “sheet”. In the Green Book published by the International Rubber Quality and Packing Conference, this type of natural rubber falls under the quality section.