Synthetic Rubber

Jai Ganesh · 2024-07-21 17:35:47

Synthetic Rubber

Gist

A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32 million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic.

Summary

Synthetic rubber refers to virtually any rubber material that is manmade. Synthetic rubber mimics the desirable properties of natural rubber and is used in many of the same applications. There is a wide range of synthetic rubbers available on the market, many of which boast unique performance attributes that natural rubber does not possess.

Demand for synthetic rubber is incredibly high: In 2021, the synthetic rubber market was valued at $28.89 billion—and is expected to surpass $41 billion by 2029.

There are a few key differences between synthetic rubber and natural rubber, starting with the production process. While natural rubber is usually desired from natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber is made from petroleum byproducts.

The step-by-step process of making synthetic rubber starts with a hydrocarbon mixture, usually from oil or coal. In its liquid form, this mixture is called “naphtha.” The naphtha is introduced to natural gas, which triggers a reaction that produces monomers. A monomer may be thought of as the first building block of synthetic rubber: Multiple identical monomers must bind together to create a polymer. Chemical agents are then introduced, which triggers the polymers to create polymer chains.

The next step is a process called “vulcanization.” In simple terms, vulcanization is a hardening process that transforms polymer chains into a rubber substance. This is achieved via the addition of specific accelerating agents, such as polychloroprene or sulfur. After vulcanization, the synthetic rubber material can be processed, molded, or otherwise shaped.

There are many varieties of synthetic rubber, each offering its own portfolio of performance attributes and desirable characteristics.

Butyl

Butyl rubber is a copolymer of isobutylene and isoprene.There are many applications for butyl rubber, but this synthetic rubber is popular for a few key products. Tire inner tubes, speakers, roofing, and gas masks are often made with butyl. Butyl is also used by the pharmaceutical and sporting industries.

Chloroprene

Easily recognized by its commercial name, neoprene, chloroprene was first developed in the 1930s. Many consumer products, such as wetsuits, laptop sleeves, cycling clothes, and costumes, are made with chloroprene. Civil engineers also rely on chloroprene for bridge construction.

Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)

CPE is often added to other materials to improve their weather and impact resistance qualities.

Ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) rubber

EPDM is an extremely popular synthetic rubber material with applications in many industries because of its excellent sealing, durability, and resistance properties. The construction and automotive industries both use EPDM for weather stripping and seals. It’s also used for a variety of consumer products and electronics.

Fluoroelastomers (FKM)

Fluoroelastomers remain stable even when subjected to extreme heat for a long time and are often used in high-temperature environments. FKM is also highly resistant to flame, aging, oils, ozone, and many other chemicals.

Nitrile

Nitrile’s resistance to oil, fuel, and chemicals sets it apart from other synthetic rubbers. Nitrile is used to make automotive and aerospace hoses, seals, and more. Consumer products made from nitrile include shoes, floor mats, and gloves.

Polybutadiene rubber

Most polybutadiene rubber is used to manufacture tires. But this synthetic rubber can also be found in golf ball cores and plastic compounds.

Styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber

SBR offers excellent abrasion resistance and remains stable as it ages. SBR is found in roughly half of all tires, along with shoe soles, gaskets, coatings, and more.

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV)

Known commercially as Santoprene, TPV is a close duplicate of EPDM rubber. TPV offers excellent sealing properties, is fully recyclable, and is comfortable to the touch. TPV is found in many automotive components, household appliances, construction materials, and more.

Uses

The applications for synthetic rubber are nearly limitless. Perhaps the largest consumer of synthetic rubbers is the automotive industry. Tires, seals, o-rings, gaskets, hoses, belts, and other components throughout the vehicle are often made with synthetic rubbers. The aerospace industry uses synthetic rubbers for many of these same components. The construction industry also relies heavily on synthetic rubber for seals, flooring, roofing, and other applications.

Another major consumer of synthetic rubbers is the medical industry. Synthetic rubbers are safe for patients who are sensitive or allergic to latex and thus are often used for tubing and other products that come into direct contact with the skin. Healthcare professionals also rely on synthetic rubber for protective equipment, medical components, and much more.

Everyday consumers will find synthetic rubber all throughout their daily lives. Shoes, sporting goods, kitchen tools, and even chewing gum contain synthetic rubber of all kinds.

Details

A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32 million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubber, just like natural rubber, has many uses in the automotive industry for tires, door and window profiles, seals such as O-rings and gaskets, hoses, belts, matting, and flooring. They offer a different range of physical and chemical properties which can improve the reliability of a given product or application. Synthetic rubbers are superior to natural rubbers in two major respects: thermal stability, and resistance to oils and related compounds. They are more resistant to oxidizing agents, such as oxygen and ozone which can reduce the life of products like tires.

History of synthetic rubber

The expanded use of bicycles, and particularly their pneumatic tires, starting in the 1890s, created increased demand for rubber. In 1909, a team headed by Fritz Hofmann, working at the Bayer laboratory in Elberfeld, Germany, succeeded in polymerizing isoprene, making the first synthetic rubber.

Studies published in 1930 written independently the Russian Lebedev, the American Wallace Carothers and the German scientist Hermann Staudinger led in 1931 to one of the first successful synthetic rubbers, known as neoprene, which was developed at DuPont under the direction of E. K. Bolton. Neoprene is highly resistant to heat and chemicals such as oil and gasoline, and is used in fuel hoses and as an insulating material in machinery. The company Thiokol applied their name to a competing type of rubber based on ethylene dichloride.

In 1935, German chemists synthesized the first of a series of synthetic rubbers known as Buna rubbers. These were copolymers, meaning the polymers were made up from two monomers in alternating sequence. Other brands included Koroseal, which Waldo Semon developed in 1935, and Sovprene, which Soviet researchers created in 1940.

World War II

Production of synthetic rubber in the United States expanded greatly during World War II since the Axis powers controlled nearly all the world's limited supplies of natural rubber by mid-1942, following the Japanese conquest of most of Asia, particularly in the Southeast Asian colonies of British Malaya (now Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from where much of the global supply of natural rubber was sourced.

Operation Pointblank bombing targets of Nazi Germany included the Schkopau (50,000 tons/yr) plant and the Hüls synthetic rubber plant near Recklinghausen (30,000, 17%), and the Kölnische Gummifäden Fabrik tire and tube plant at Deutz on the east bank of the Rhine. The Ferrara, Italy, synthetic rubber factory (near a river bridge) was bombed August 23, 1944. Three other synthetic rubber facilities were at Ludwigshafen/Oppau (15,000), Hanover/Limmer (reclamation, 20,000), and Leverkusen (5,000). A synthetic rubber plant at Oświęcim, in Nazi-occupied Poland, was under construction on March 5, 1944 operated by IG Farben and supplied with slave labor, by the SS, from the associated camp Auschwitz III (Monowitz).

Types

The most prevalent synthetic rubber is styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBR) derived from the copolymerization of styrene and 1,3-butadiene. Other synthetic rubbers include:

* polyisoprene, prepared by polymerization of isoprene
* neoprene, prepared by polymerization of 2-chlorobutadiene
* nitrile rubber made from cyanobutadiene or 2-propenenitrile and butadiene

Many variations of these can be prepared with mixtures of monomers and with various catalysts that allow for control of stereochemistry.

Polyisobutylene or butyl rubber is commonly used in tyre inner tubes or linings owing to its resistance to diffusion of air through the lining. It is a much less resilient material than cis-polybutadiene which is frequently used in tyre sidewalls to minimize energy losses and heat build-up. It is so resilient that it is used in super balls. An elastomer widely used for external sheet such as roof coverings is Hypalon or chlorosulphonated polyethylene. Synthetic rubbers like EPR can also be used for electrical insulation.

Silicone rubber

Silicone rubber is also a synthetic elastomer composed of silicone polymers. Silicone rubbers are widely used in industry, and there are multiple formulations. Silicone rubbers are often one- or two-part polymers, and may contain fillers to improve properties or reduce cost. Silicone rubber is generally non-reactive, stable, and resistant to extreme environments and temperatures.

Natural vs. synthetic rubber

Natural rubber, coming from latex of Hevea brasiliensis, is mainly poly-cis-isoprene.

Synthetic rubber, like other polymers, is made from various petroleum-based monomers.

Some synthetic rubbers are less sensitive to ozone cracking than natural rubber. Natural rubber is sensitive owing to the double bonds in its chain structure, but some synthetic rubbers do not possess these bonds and so are more resistant to ozone cracking. Examples include Viton rubber, EPDM and butyl rubber.

A new class of synthetic rubber is the thermoplastic elastomers which can be moulded easily unlike conventional natural rubber vulcanized rubber. Their structure is stabilized by cross-linking by crystallites in the case of polyurethanes or by amorphous domains in the case of SBS block copolymers.

Irene · 2024-07-24 03:53:31

Thanks for the information.

Jai Ganesh · 2024-07-24 06:50:53

My pleasure!

Ibrahim Ali · 2024-08-22 21:07:47

Made from petroleum byproducts, it often outperforms natural rubber in things like heat and chemical resistance.
Thanks for that man.

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Synthetic Rubber

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