Natural rubber latex is a raw material harvested from the rubber trees known as H. brasiliensis. There are about eight Hevea plant species from the Euphorbiaceae family are known to produce natural rubber latex, but only H. brasiliensis species is economically exploited. This tree is originally found growing in the Amazon basin of South America but now grown in plantations of rubber producing nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand (Tuan Muhammad, 2009). Natural rubber latex was discovered in 1496 when Christopher Columbus and his crew saw indigenous people of Amazon play with a bouncing ball made from dry natural rubber. Since then, samples of natural rubber had been sent back to Europe from time to time.
In 1770, Joseph …show more content…
The sudden increase in the manufacturing sector was catalyzed by Rubber Institute of Malaysia (RRIM), now known as Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) which identify the potential growth of rubber based industrialization. Many research and development (R&D) of rubber products were conducted and a wide range of incentives to facilitate the industrialization process were provided (Lembaga Getah Malaysia, 2013). Hence, the natural rubber industry had progressively evolved from being an agricultural based industry into products manufacturing based industry (Zaharah, 1998). The downstream natural rubber industry can be divided into two major categories, namely dry natural rubber products and natural rubber latex products. Dry natural rubber products include footwear, tires, hoses, engine mountings, dock fenders, and seismic bearings. On the other hand, natural rubber latex products encompass gloves, condoms, catheters, foam mattresses, balloons, and latex threads. According to Low and Abdul Kadir (2010 ), natural rubber latex gloves represent 80% of the total export value of natural rubber products, which is estimated to grow at a rate of more than 10% per year. This is due mainly to the increased usage of natural rubber latex gloves among healthcare workers and a growing public awareness of the hazards posed by widespread infectious diseases such as the pandemic virus influenza A (H1N1), …show more content…
In materials science and engineering, the word “latex” is used to denote a stable colloidal dispersion of polymeric substances in an aqueous medium. Natural rubber latex is a high molecular weight polymer of isoprene (C5H8), whereas one double bond unit exists for each C5H8 group. Rubber molecule has a long chain polymer structure, which almost 98% of the isoprene is in the form of cis- 1,4- polyisoprene configuration (Figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1: The chemical structure of cis - 1, 4 – polyisoprene
Source: Chong,
In 1770, Joseph …show more content…
The sudden increase in the manufacturing sector was catalyzed by Rubber Institute of Malaysia (RRIM), now known as Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) which identify the potential growth of rubber based industrialization. Many research and development (R&D) of rubber products were conducted and a wide range of incentives to facilitate the industrialization process were provided (Lembaga Getah Malaysia, 2013). Hence, the natural rubber industry had progressively evolved from being an agricultural based industry into products manufacturing based industry (Zaharah, 1998). The downstream natural rubber industry can be divided into two major categories, namely dry natural rubber products and natural rubber latex products. Dry natural rubber products include footwear, tires, hoses, engine mountings, dock fenders, and seismic bearings. On the other hand, natural rubber latex products encompass gloves, condoms, catheters, foam mattresses, balloons, and latex threads. According to Low and Abdul Kadir (2010 ), natural rubber latex gloves represent 80% of the total export value of natural rubber products, which is estimated to grow at a rate of more than 10% per year. This is due mainly to the increased usage of natural rubber latex gloves among healthcare workers and a growing public awareness of the hazards posed by widespread infectious diseases such as the pandemic virus influenza A (H1N1), …show more content…
In materials science and engineering, the word “latex” is used to denote a stable colloidal dispersion of polymeric substances in an aqueous medium. Natural rubber latex is a high molecular weight polymer of isoprene (C5H8), whereas one double bond unit exists for each C5H8 group. Rubber molecule has a long chain polymer structure, which almost 98% of the isoprene is in the form of cis- 1,4- polyisoprene configuration (Figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1: The chemical structure of cis - 1, 4 – polyisoprene
Source: Chong,