How
would we obtain the rubber?
To
gather crude rubber, several steps are necessary:
Step
1: Locate natural rubber producing trees, known as Hevea brasiliensis.
Step
2: Make a long diagonal cut angled downward (See Figure 2).
The latex exudes from the cut and can be collected in a small cup.
The amount of latex obtained from each cut is about 1 fluid oz.
Step
3:Make the cuts from the top of the tree, moving downward. When the cuttings
have reached the bottom, allow the tree to renew itself.
Step
4: Take the gathered latex and strain it, then dilute it with water. If
any acids are available, treat the latex with acid, this will cause the
latex particles to clump together.
Step 5: Roll into roughly 1cm thick slabs, and then allow to air dry. The result is crude rubber.
Pure crude rubber is a white hydrocarbon. The simplest unit of crude rubber is isoprene. It has the chemical formula C5H8. At room temperature, crude rubber is soft and translucent. At very high temperatures, crude rubber becomes sticky. At low temperatures, it becomes brittle. These problems are solved by vulcanization.