Rubber Industry

Natural Rubber refers to elastomers that are manufactured naturally. Latex, a milky white liquid that drips from the bark of various tropical and subtropical plants, is the primary ingredient in natural rubber. This latex rubber is mostly produced in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. It is made by polymerizing the chemical compound isoprene (2-methyl-1, 3-butadiene), also known as cis-1, 4-polyisoprene. Simply described, they are produced by loosely fusing the isoprene monomers into a long, twisted chain. The Rubber Research Institute developed the first genetically modified rubber plant, particularly for this site, and it was planted in Assam where it is expected to thrive in the climatic conditions of the mountainous northeastern region.

Rubber Consumption in India:

• Sector of automotive tyres: 50% (all Kind of Rubber)
• Tires and tubes for bicycles: 15%
• Shoes: 12%
• Hoses and belts: 6%
• Production of latex and camelback: 7%
• Other product: 10%

Preparation of Natural Rubber:

1. Rubber tapping: By cutting a small V-cut in the tree bark, the milky white liquid latex from rubber trees is collected in a cup. To coagulate the rubber particles, the collected latex is washed, filtered, and subjected to an acid reaction.

2. Mastication: Tapping-obtained rubber is still not ready for usage. It has a highly brittle character while cold and becomes quite gluey when warmed up. The rubber is allowed to travel between the rollers and is pressed to make it softer and more workable in order to get rid of its brittleness and overpowering smell. Depending on the qualities needed for the rubber, this procedure is repeated. To improve the quality of rubber, other chemical compounds are also added throughout this procedure.

3. Calendaring: Using rollers, calendaring is a method that is mostly used to provide rubber shape ( after proper mixing of the chemical ingredients). The finished product is then put through specialized holes in an extrusion machine to create hollow tubes.

4. Vulcanization: Completing the previous processes won’t produce rubber that is strong or hard enough to be employed in machinery and goods like vehicle tyres. Sulphur is added to the rubber to improve these qualities, and it is heated at a temperature between 373K and 415K. Vulcanization is the term for this process. After vulcanization, the Sulphur works as a cross-linking agent, causing the rubber to become cross-linked and rigid.

Government Initiatives of Natural Rubber:

• Government-led programs for rubber include the Rubber Group Planting Scheme and the Rubber Plantation Development Scheme.
• Plantations for rubber, coffee, tea, cardamom, palm, and olive oil trees all get 100% foreign direct investment (FDI).
• Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, and India are major producers on a global scale.
• China, India, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia are major consumers.
• Support for traditional regions (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) and support for non-traditional regions make up the government’s natural rubber policy (includes North East India and any other place beyond Kerala & Tamil Nadu). Rubber Board puts these into action.

Non-Traditional Regions:

1. Financial support
2. Plantation growth and extension initiatives
3. Rubber Development in the North East (RDNE), which is concerned with new rubber plantations in the region of the North East.

National Rubber Policy of India:

• The National Rubber Policy was released by the Department of Commerce in March 2019.
• The policy has a number of measures that promote the Natural Rubber (NR) production sector as well as the whole value chain of the rubber industry.
• It addresses the following topics: new rubber planting and replanting, grower support, natural rubber processing and marketing, labor shortage, grower forums, external trade, center-state integrated strategies, research, training, manufacturing and export of rubber products, climate change concerns, and the carbon market.
• It is based on the short- and long-term solutions chosen by the Task Force established on the rubber industry to address issues encountered by the nation’s rubber growers.

Indian Scenario:

• In 1902, on the banks of the Periyar River in Kerala, the British constructed the country’s first rubber plantation.
• With one of the greatest rates of output, India is presently the sixth-largest producer of NR worldwide (694,000 tonnes in 2017-2018).
• States that produce the most rubber are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Rubber Board of India:

• It is governed by the ministry of Commerce and Industry and has its headquarters in Kottayam, Kerala.
• The Board is in charge of supporting and fostering research, development, extension, and training initiatives connected to rubber in order to advance the rubber sector in the nation.
• The Rubber Board oversees the Rubber Research Institute.

Commercial Plantation Crop: The latex of a tree known as Hevea Brasiliensis is used to make rubber. For military, national security, and industrial growth, rubber is primarily regarded as a critical industrial raw resource and given a special position internationally.

Conditions for Growth: It is an equatorial crop that may also be cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions under specific circumstances.

• Temperature: Above 25°C with a humid and rainy environment.
• Rainfall: 200 cm or more of rain.
• Soil Type: Alluvial soil that is rich and well-drained.
• For this plantation crop, there must be a cheap and plentiful supply of competent workers.

Conclusion:

Despite being the finest supply of rubber currently accessible, the rubber tree is currently under serious threat. Only plants that thrive in certain, specialized regions may be used to make rubber. We should look for new rubber-containing plants and enhance the ones that are currently known in an effort to make them more competitive economically so that we can increase the sources of natural rubber and prevent the risks associated with limiting production.