Rubber is an organic compound whose main components are carbon and hydrogen. Get it from special woody plants, which are often called rubbery. Such representatives of the flora grow in the tropics. Their organs (fruits, leaves, branches, trunk, roots) contain latex. This milky fluid is not the juice of plants; botanists still doubt the specificity of its significance for the life of the plant organism. It is from latex in the process of coagulation that a continuous elastic mass is obtained, which is natural rubber.
History of the discovery of natural rubber
The contribution of Christopher Columbus to the development of world civilization is not limited to the great geographical discoveries. It was his ship, having moored on the island of Hispaniola in 1493, took the first rubber product to Spain. It was an elastic bouncing ball that locals made from hevea juice - a plant found on the banks of the Amazon. Seeing how the Indians enthusiastically threw a strange little thing that, reaching the ground, also bounced off, as if alive, as if taking a jump, the Spaniards were seriously surprised. Trying to hold this bouncing ball, they came to the conclusion that it is quite heavy, and also drew attention to its stickiness and the characteristic smell of smoke.
The use of rubber among the Indians was not limited to this. Local tribes not only played this ball, but used it in various religious rites. And the juice of the tree from which it was obtained was considered sacred and called it “rubber”, which means “tears of a tree”.
Among the wonders brought by Columbus to Spain was this unusual ball. From this time began the history of the use of rubber.
First attempts to use
But the Europeans did not pay due attention to the curiosity of the Indians. And until the 18th century, they did not think about how wide and diverse the fields of application of rubber were. Only when members of the French expedition, who visited the tropical forests of South America, he was again brought to Europe, they paid attention to him. Of even greater interest came when the French scientist S. Condamine, speaking at the assembly of the Paris Academy of Sciences, demonstrated samples of this substance, showed possible uses and products from it.
Wide The use of natural rubber in Europe began around 1770, when a new accessory appeared in schools - a gum-elastic, which was used to wash pencil lines.
Then began an active search for possible areas of use of rubber. The invention of suspenders and rubber threads dates back to that time. And the Scottish inventor C. Mackintosh guessed to lay a thin layer of rubber between two layers of fabric, thus obtaining a waterproof fabric. This material was crazy popular, raincoats from it got its name by the name of the inventor. They were called macs.
The collapse of the rubber industry
Initial attempts to establish production of waterproof shoes were unsuccessful. Galoshes, although they became quite fashionable for a short period of time, did not differ in practicality. In the cold, they could crack, and in the heat they almost melted and exuded an unpleasant smell.
The enthusiasm of the inventors did not last long. In one of those years, in many parts of Europe it was a very hot summer. Under the influence of high temperatures, rubber products turned into a terribly smelling mass. All enterprises in this industry went bankrupt then.
Discovery of Charles Goodyear
And no one would have remembered galoshes and macs if not for the stubbornness of the American Charles Goodyear. He devoted many years to finding ways to create good material from rubber.
Goodyear conducted many experiments, mixing rubber with almost everything. He added salt, pepper, sand, and even soup to it. Having spent all his money and energy, the inventor had already lost hope. But his efforts were all the same successful. Adding sulfur to the substance, he found that both strength, elasticity, and temperature stability improved.
Thus, he was able to improve the rubber. Properties and Application new compounds again became the object of study of scientists and industrialists. The material obtained by Goodyear is now called rubber, and the process during which it is obtained is vulcanization of rubber.
Rubber boom
After a sensational discovery, a happy scientist received numerous offers to buy a patent for the invented material. The use of rubber for rubber production has become enormous. For this, almost all countries began to look for ways to grow rubber trees on their territory. In this regard, Brazil was most lucky, because it was this state that owned the huge reserves of such plants. The Brazilian government made a lot of efforts to remain a monopolist in this area, categorically prohibiting the export of seeds and young plants of hevea. The death penalty was even introduced for this crime.
But the Englishman Wyckham, who has espionage practice, managed to penetrate the shores of the Amazon, where he secretly obtained and sent to Britain 70,000 seeds of a rubber-bearing tree. And although local breeders did not immediately succeed in growing this tropical plant in a territory with a different climate, thanks to their efforts, some time later, cheaper and more affordable English rubber appeared on the market.
Meanwhile, the use of natural rubber became so wide that the number of rubber products exceeded 100,000. A huge number of new products were launched: conveyor belts and electrical insulation, “rubber bands” for linen, rubber shoes, children's balloons, etc. But the main use of natural rubber was associated with the automotive industry, when it first invented carriage, and then automobile tires.
The use of rubber and rubber in our country has long been based on the production of them from foreign raw materials. Only when in Kazakhstan dandelions were discovered, the roots of which contain rubber, did the first rubber products from domestic material appear. But it was a very time-consuming process, since the release of rubber from dandelion roots took a very long time due to its low concentration (16-28%).
Obtaining synthetic rubber
Natural resources of natural rubber do not satisfy the high needs of the population for goods made from this material. Nowadays, the production of synthetic rubber is much larger.
S.V. Lebedev in 1910 for the first time received synthetic rubber. The production material was butadiene, which was isolated from ethyl alcohol. Later, by performing a polymerization reaction using sodium metal, synthetic butadiene rubber was obtained.
Industrial production of synthetic rubber
In 1925, S.V. Lebedev set himself the task of finding an industrial method for the synthesis of rubber. Two years later, it was successfully resolved. The first few kilograms of rubber were synthesized by a laboratory method. It was Lebedev who began studying the properties of this rubber and developing recipes for obtaining products necessary for the consumer from it.
And in subsequent years, the use of rubber was the most important task of the work of S. V. Lebedev. It was according to his method that the first batch of this material of an industrial scale was obtained at the first factory in the world producing this material.
In the period from 1932 to 1990, the Soviet Union was a leader in terms of production in this industry. The use of synthetic rubber allowed expanding the range of rubber products, in particular: soft rubber products, soles for shoes, various pipes and hoses, sealants and adhesives, latex-based paints and others.
Synthetic rubber: properties and applications
Now the range of synthetic rubbers has grown significantly when compared with the middle of the 20th century. Its various types can differ greatly in chemical composition and consumer properties. The classification of synthetic rubber is based on the difference in monomers used in its preparation. So, there are isoprene, butadiene, chloroprene and other types. According to another classification, rubbers are divided into types depending on the characteristic group of atoms that make up their composition. For example, types of polysulfide, organosilicon rubbers, etc. are known.
The main method for producing synthetic rubbers is the polymerization of dienes and alkenes. The most common monomers in this case can be called butadiene, isoprene, ethylene, acrylonitrile, etc.
Some types of polysulfide, polyurethane rubbers are obtained during the polycondensation reaction.
General and special purpose rubbers
In accordance with the fields of application, rubbers can be divided into general and special materials. Representatives of the first group have a set of properties that make it possible to use them for the production of various goods, the elastic properties of which should be manifested at ordinary temperatures. But the use of synthetic rubber for special purposes involves the preservation of properties in extreme situations, for example, under the influence of frost and fire, ozone and oxygen, etc.
Isoprene rubber: application
The composition of isoprene rubber is very similar to natural. Consequently, the spectrum of properties of these substances is largely the same.
Its disadvantages include poor resistance to high temperatures, ozone and direct sunlight. The low cohesive strength of rubber based on them is a property that makes isoprene rubber less popular. Application it is difficult due to increased stickiness, lack of frame and fluidity. But in monolithic products that do not require the connection of a large number of parts, isoprene rubbers are used quite widely.
Rubber patches
The use of rubber in medicine also takes place. The most common product of the medical industry obtained using rubber is a patch. It is a mixture of rubber, medicinal and related substances. The advantages of such adhesives:
- long stickiness;
- compatibility with many drugs;
- harmlessness;
- ease of use.
The production process consists in dissolving 1 part of rubber in 12 parts of gasoline. And then other related components are introduced into the solution: terpentine (increases stickiness), lanolin (prevents drying), zinc oxide (weakens irritation), and medications (create a therapeutic effect).
Rubber implants
Truly vital rubber products include human organ implants. The use of rubber in their production began relatively recently and was the beginning of a new era in the development of medicine.
Tracheal implants are materials from polyactylates, polysiloxanes, polyamides. The artificial heart and its parts are made from polyurethanes and polyoxylans. Polyethylene and polypropylene are the material for the production of implants for the parts of the esophagus, and polyvinyl chloride is the main component of the implants in other parts of the digestive system. Artificial blood vessels are made from polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene and polypropylene. To find people with disabilities new bones and joints help polyacrylates, polyamides, polyurethanes.
The use of rubber in industrial products
The importance of rubber in the national economy is enormous. But the use of natural rubber in its pure form is a rarity. Most often it is used in the form of rubber. Products from this material are found in everyday life at every step. This is insulation of wires, and the production of shoes and clothes, and car tires, and much more.
As a rule, the following types of rubber are used in the footwear industry: porous (sole), leather-like (lower part of the shoe), transparent (heels).
The use of natural rubber and its synthetic analogues is no coincidence has become widespread. They meet most of human needs, being one of the most versatile materials.