Application of rubber in medicine and industry. Application of natural rubber: examples

Rubber is an organic compound, the main components of which are carbon and hydrogen. Get it from special woody plants, which are often called rubber. Such representatives of the flora grow in the tropics. Their organs (fruits, leaves, branches, trunk, roots) contain latex. This milky fluid is not plant juice, botanists still doubt the specificity of its significance for the vital activity of the plant organism. It is from latex in the process of coagulation that a solid elastic mass is obtained, which is a natural natural rubber.

The history of the discovery of natural rubber

The contribution of Christopher Columbus to the development of world civilization is not limited to the Great geographical discoveries. It was his ship, attached to the island of Hispaniola in 1493, took to Spain the first piece of rubber. It was an elastic jumping ball that locals made from the juice of Hevea - a plant that meets on the banks of the Amazon. Seeing how the Indians enthusiastically threw an outlandish thing that reached the ground, and bounced, as if alive, as if making a jump, the Spaniards were jokingly surprised. Trying to hold this jumping ball, they came to the conclusion that it was quite heavy, but also paid attention to its stickiness and characteristic smell of smoke.

The use of rubber in the Indians is not limited to this. Local tribes not only played this ball, but used it in various religious rites. And the juice of the tree from which it turned out was considered sacred and was called "caoutchouc", which means "tears of a tree".

Among the curiosities brought by Columbus to Spain, there was this unusual ball. Since that time, the history of the application of rubber began.

First attempts at application

But the Europeans did not pay proper attention to the wonder of the Indians. And right up to the 18th century they did not think about how wide and varied the areas of application of rubber. Only when members of the French expedition that visited the tropical forests of South America, he was again brought to Europe, he was noticed. Even greater interest appeared when the French scientist S. Condamine, speaking at the assembly of the Paris Academy of Sciences, demonstrated samples of this substance, showed methods of possible use and products from it.

Broad The application of natural rubber in Europe began around 1770, when a new accessory, gum polish, was introduced in schools, which was used to erase pencil lines.

Then began an active search for possible areas of use of rubber. It was at that time that the invention of suspenders and rubber threads was concerned. And the Scottish inventor Ch. Mackintosh guessed to lay a thin layer of rubber between two layers of fabric, thus obtaining a waterproof cloth. This material had a crazy popularity, raincoats from it got their name by the name of the inventor. They were called mackintosh.

The collapse of the rubber industry

Initial attempts to adjust the production of waterproof footwear were not successful. Galoshes though and became fashionable enough for a short period of time, but practicality did not differ. In the cold they could crack, and in the heat they almost melted and exuded an unpleasant smell.

Enthusiasm of inventors was short-lived. In one of those years in many parts of Europe it was a very hot summer. Under the influence of high temperatures, the products of the rubber industry have turned into an awfully smelling mass. All enterprises of this industry then went bankrupt.

The discovery of Charles Goodyear

And no one would remember anymore about galoshes and mackintosh, if not for the persistence of the American Charles Goodyear. He devoted his search to ways to create good material from rubber for many years.

Goodyear conducted many experiments, mixing rubber with almost everything. He added salt and pepper, sand, and even soup. Having spent all his money and energy, the inventor had already lost hope. But his efforts nevertheless were crowned with success. Adding sulfur to the substance, he found that strength, elasticity, and temperature stability improved.

Thus, he managed to improve the rubber. Properties and applications A new compound again became the object of study of scientists and industrialists. The material received by Goodyear is now called rubber, and the process, in the course of which it was obtained, is vulcanization of rubber.

The rubber boom

After a sensational discovery, the happy scientist showered numerous proposals for the purchase of a patent for the invented material. The use of rubber for the production of rubber has acquired enormous proportions. To do this, almost all countries began to look for ways to grow on their own territory in the tree-rubber trees. In this regard, most fortunate for Brazil, because it was this state that owned the huge reserves of such plants. The government of Brazil made a lot of efforts to remain a monopolist in this sphere, categorically prohibiting the export of seeds and young plants of Hevea. For this crime, even the death penalty was introduced.

But the Englishman Vikgem, who had espionage practice, managed to penetrate the shores of the Amazon, where he secretly extracted and sent to Britain 70,000 seeds of a rubber tree. And although the local breeders did not immediately get to the territory with a different climate to grow this tropical plant, thanks to their efforts after some time in the market appeared cheaper and affordable English rubber.

In the meantime, the use of natural rubber has become so wide that the number of rubber products has exceeded 100,000. A huge number of new products have been set up: conveyor belt and electrical insulation, rubber bands for linen, rubber shoes, children's balloons, etc. But the main use of natural rubber was associated with the automotive industry, when invented first the crew, and then the car tires.

The use of rubber and rubber in our country has long been based on the production of them from foreign raw materials. Only when dandelions found in Kazakhstan, whose roots contain rubber, appeared the first rubber products from the domestic material. But this was a very laborious process, since the extraction of rubber from the roots of the dandelion took a very long time because of its low concentration (16-28%).

Synthetic Rubber Preparation

The natural resources of natural rubber do not satisfy the high requirements of the population in the goods from this material. Now much more extensive is the production of synthetic rubber.

SV Lebedev in 1910 for the first time received synthetic rubber. The material for production was butadiene, which was isolated from ethyl alcohol. Later, by carrying out the polymerization reaction using metallic sodium, a butadiene synthetic rubber was obtained.

Industrial production of synthetic rubber

In 1925 S. Lebedev set himself the task of finding an industrial method for the synthesis of rubber. Two years later it was successfully solved. The first few kilograms of rubber were synthesized by the laboratory method. It was Lebedev who was engaged in studying the properties of this rubber and developing recipes for obtaining products necessary for the consumer.

And in subsequent years, the application of rubber was the most important task of the work of SV Lebedev. According to his method, the first batch of this material was produced at the world's first factory producing this material.

Between 1932 and 1990, the Soviet Union was the leader in terms of output in this industry. The use of synthetic rubber allowed to expand the range of rubber products, in particular: soft rubber products, soles for shoes, various pipes and hoses, sealants and adhesives, latex-based paints and others.

Synthetic rubber: properties and applications

Now the range of synthetic rubbers has grown significantly, compared with the mid-20th century. Different types of it can differ greatly in chemical composition and consumer properties. The classification of synthetic rubber is based on the difference in monomers used in its preparation. So, there are isoprene, butadiene, chloroprene and other types. According to another classification, rubbers are divided into types depending on the characteristic group of atoms that are included in their composition. For example, types of polysulphide, silicone rubbers, etc. are known.

The main method for the production of synthetic rubbers is the polymerization of dienes and alkenes. The most common monomers are butadiene, isoprene, ethylene, acrylonitrile, etc.

Some types of polysulphide, polyurethane rubbers are produced during the polycondensation reaction.

Rubbers of general and special purposes

In accordance with the fields of application, rubbers can be divided into general and special purpose materials. Representatives of the first group have a set of properties that make it possible to use them for the production of various goods whose elastic properties should be manifested at ordinary temperatures. But the use of synthetic rubber for special purposes presupposes the preservation of properties in extreme situations, for example, under the influence of frost and fire, ozone and oxygen, etc.

Isoprene rubber: application

The composition of isoprene rubber is very similar to natural. Consequently, the spectrum of properties of these substances largely coincides.

Its disadvantages include poor resistance to high temperatures, ozone and direct sunlight. Low cohesive strength of rubber on their basis is a property that makes isoprene rubber less demanded. Application It is hampered by increased stickiness, insufficient carcass and flow. But in monolithic products, which do not require the connection of a large number of parts, isoprene rubbers are widely used.

Rubber plasters

The use of rubber in medicine also takes place. The most common product of the medical industry, obtained with the use of rubber, is a plaster. It is a mixture of rubber, medicinal and related substances. Advantages of such patches:

• Long-term stickiness;
• Compatibility with many drugs;
• Harmlessness;
• Ease of use.

The production process consists in dissolving 1 part of rubber in 12 parts of gasoline. And then other accompanying components are introduced into the solution: terpentine (increases stickiness), lanolin (prevents drying), zinc oxide (reduces irritation), drugs (create a therapeutic effect).

Implants from rubber

Indeed, implants of human organs can be called vitally important products from rubber. The use of rubber in their manufacture began relatively recently and marked the beginning of a new era in the development of medicine.

Implants of the trachea are materials from polyactylates, polysiloxanes, polyamides. The artificial heart and its parts are made of polyurethanes and polyoxylans. Polyethylene and polypropylene are the material for the production of implants of the esophagus, and polyvinyl chloride is the main component of the implants of other parts of the digestive system. Artificial blood vessels are made of polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene and polypropylene. To find new bones and joints for people with disabilities polyacrylates, polyamides, polyurethanes help.

Application of rubber in industrial products

The importance of rubber in the national economy is enormous. But the use of natural rubber in its pure form is a great rarity. Most often it is used in the form of rubber. Products from this material are found in everyday life at every step. This is the insulation of wires, and the production of shoes and clothing, and car tires, and much more.

In the footwear industry, as a rule, the following types of rubber are used: porous (sole), leather-like (the lower part of the shoe), transparent (heels).

The use of natural rubber and its synthetic analogues is not accidental, it has become ubiquitous. They meet most of human needs, being one of the most versatile materials.