{"id":2617,"date":"2016-03-09T16:29:49","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T16:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bulldogcastors.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2617"},"modified":"2018-11-02T04:30:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T04:30:03","slug":"history-of-natural-rubber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bulldogcastors.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-natural-rubber\/","title":{"rendered":"History of Natural Rubber"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NaturalNatural Rubber<\/a><\/strong> can be traced back as far as 1600BC, where Latin American tribes would boil the sap of latex producing trees and mould into primitive rubber balls. This primitive material remained unknown to the rest of the world for centuries.<\/p>\n

Modern Natural Rubber is derived from the latex of the Hevea Brasiliensis tree (Par\u00e1 rubber tree) which origins come from the Amazon Rainforest. In 1496 Christopher Columbus returned from his second voyage bringing back the first rubber balls where they were considered incomparable to any other material in existence, due their resilience and elasticity. However Europeans could not find any practical use for the material for some 300 years.<\/p>\n

In 1818 Charles Macintosh invented a method of producing a rubber based solution that would act as a waterproofing layer on fabrics, by mixing the latex with coal tar naphtha solvent. This quickly led to his famous product, the Macintosh\u201d. The invention of this process was the start of the rubber industry.<\/p>\n

A second major breakthrough occurred in 1841 by Charles Goodyear who discovered heating a mixture of rubber and sulphur resulted in a consistent rubber formula that retained its characteristics in both hot and cold climates, unlike the Macintosh technique. This method was called vulcanisation and is still widely used to this day.<\/p>\n

During the late 18th century various attempts to establish the Hevea Brasiliensis tree outside of its native country were attempted and finally in 1876 they were successfully grown in Sri Lanka and Singapore. Thereafter the rubber was extensively propagated in the British colonies and shortly after the rubber industry boomed with the invention of the bicycle and automotive industry.<\/p>\n

During the first world war the British Navy blocked the Germans from South East Asia which restricted their access of the supply Natural Rubber which was required for manufacturing components for mechanical warfare equipment, such as Hoses, Belts, Gaskets and Tires for Tanks, Aeroplanes and Equipment.\u00a0 This acted as a catalyst for the start in the development of Synthetic rubbers.<\/p>\n

Today, Natural rubber is the most utilised rubber in the world with annual consumption of nearly 6 million tonnes.\u00a0 Around 70% of all natural rubber is consumed within the Tire Manufacturing industry<\/a>, however natural rubber is also used in a vast array of industries and applications, from rubber modified asphalt for roads, industrial components<\/strong> such as Caster Wheels<\/strong><\/a>, Anti Vibration Mountings and Rubber Mouldings, Seals and Gaskets to Medical Devices<\/strong>, Flooring, Toys and Shoes.<\/p>\n

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