The rubber-producing tree, Ficus elastica (the Indian rubber tree), requires the same substrates for rubber production as other rubber-producing plants, such as Hevea brasiliensis (the Brazilian or Para rubber tree), the major source of commercial natural rubber in the world, and Parthenium argentatum (guayule), a widely studied alternative for natural rubber production currently under commerci...

This chapter addresses design issues of components realized with rubber-like PhotoPolymers (PP) recently introduced in Rapid Prototyping. In particular, the determination of accurate, hyperelastic, constitutive models which describe the PP behavior is discussed in detail. In fact, Stereolithography and Polyjet processes allow the production of highly flexible objects by using photosensitive res...

Effect of different fillers on natural rubber compounds was investigated through curing, mechanical properties and morphology studies for improving mechanical performance of rubber articles. In this work, natural rubber blends with Silica as Single-filler compounds, and blends with Silica and Carbon black as Bi-filler compounds were considered. Then, natural rubber blends with Silica, Carbon bl...

in some special cases, rubber compounds with high amounts of unsaturated elastomer are recommended with organic sulfur donors instead of mineral sulfurs. in this condition, activated sulfur is produced in situ and curingprocess is facilitated without accelerators. organic sulfur donor compounds have low thermal stability and in the vulcanization temperature produce free and activated sulfurs. t...

RQRT-PCR technique was evaluated for its validity as an alternative to Northern blotting for quantification of plant gene expression in diseased tissues of Hevea. Reliable RT-PCR results could be obtained by co-amplification of housekeeping actin gene as the internal control along with the gene of interest. The product of interest was quantified relative to that of the internal control by measu...

Abstract: Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation is a major land use practiced in Xishuangbanna of south-western China. Effects of rubber plantation (RP) and tea-rubber intercropping (TRI) systems on soil organic carbon pools were evaluated by recording changes in soil organic carbon in an age sequence of 12-, 20-, 26-, and 40-year old plantations. Labile organic carbon (LOC) increased in ...

Rapid tooling technology is regarded as an important method of reducing the cost and time to market in a new product development process. Silicone rubber mold is frequently used in indirect tooling. Automatic vacuum casting system is widely used to degas in the manufacturing of silicon rubber mold, but the cost of hardware is very expensive. A low-cost automatic vacuum degassing system is desig...

This article reflects on the evolution of rubber (natural latex) production and aspects its bloody, colonial history, noting varied applications in objects around us. The author shows why is a product need Fair Trade label to promote good conditions for tappers, farmers workers, despite being rejected as candidate by FLO international. Lessons are drawn from Fairtrade certification criteria des...