Rubber Plantation and Production Process
Online English Magazine | August 10, 2008
Rubber, natural or synthetic substance characterized by elasticity, water repellence, and electrical resistance. Natural rubber is obtained from the milky white fluid called latex.
Natural rubber production begins with the collection of latex, a milky white substance produced by the cells of several plants. Through an initial cut and selective removal of bark, a rubber tree will yield approximately 1.8 kg (about 4 lb) of dry crude rubber annually.
To gather the latex from plantation trees, a diagonal cut angled downward is made through the bark; this cut extends one-third to one-half of the circumference of the trunk. The latex exudes from the cut and is collected in a small cup.
Producing rubber involves several stages. Workers on a plantation begin by drawing latex from trees in a method called tapping. Once the milky liquid latex is tapped and collected, it is placed in a treatment tank where the liquid will begin to gel, or coagulate, into a more solid form. Then, in a roller mill, the gel is pressed into sheets called crepe. Finally, the rubber is smoked, dried, and baled for shipping to manufacturers.
Natural rubber is produced from the latex of various plants, most often members of the spurge family. Leaf blight frequently strikes rubber trees grown in tropical zones of the western hemisphere, so these regions may elect to produce synthetic rubber instead of depending on the natural source. Here, healthy trees in Ghana undergo routine tapping.
A factory worker handles latex sheets that have been pressed by a calendering machine. Calendering is a process by which treated natural rubber is run through a series of rollers. Enough heat is created by the rollers to impress the latex with texture, create smooth sheets, or laminate it in a thin layer onto another surface. A worker is treating rubber with chemicals as it is being rolled.
In its crude state, rubber is weak and vulnerable to environmental conditions such as temperature and sunlight. In order to produce useful products, rubber must be treated with compounding agents and heat to improve its strength and resiliency. The center of rubber plantation is in Majenang.
From Various Resources.
