Charles de la Condomine from Peru brought rubber; better India – rubber, to Europe in 1736, where it had been known for centuries. It was known that it could erase prints from a pencil and that it has its original somewhere in ” India”, how the both American continents were named in the Great Britain at that time. This was known as the ” India rubber”. It was obtained [and it has been obtaining so far] from latex of India - rubber plants, usually from the tree Hevea, which grew originally in tropical areas of America. Later the India – rubber plantations were planting out in the Eastern India.

Rubber trees on the plantation in the south Taiwan
(Taken from http://escati.com.rubber_plantations.htm)

This natural latex is usually white milk juice, which leaks out after cutting the India – rubber plant. Latex contains about 35 % India – rubber. We can get the India – rubber from latex by coagulating with acid acetic or formic, by washing this coagulated India – rubber and drying, which is usually connected, with smoking. The main plantation kinds are ” ribbed smoked sheet and pale latex crepe”.

Getting out the latex from the rubber tree
(Taken from http://bioag.byu/aghort100/rubber.htm)

In 1820 the chemist Charles Macintosh and the inventor Thomas Hancock made experiments together with the substances, in which it was possible to dissolve rubber. They discovered next possibilities of its using during making their experiments. By putting the rubber between two pieces of cloth Macintosh came with the first water proof coat, Hancock was sticking strips of rubber on boots and this way he became the inventor of the rubber bottom leathers. Later Hancock started to work with the firm Rattier et Guibul in Paris. And that way it happened, that this firm produced the first elastic material in 1830. Rubber is not practical in it that it sticks in a hot place and in a cold one it loses its elastic character.

Charles Goodyear from USA tried to put away these characters. By a chance he warmed over the mixture rubber, sulphur and the plumbic of whiteness, it means carbonate of plumbic used during production of colors and he found that he produced rubber, which could not be burnt easily and could not be melted. It was vulcanized India rubber. He tried to sell his idea to Charles Macintosh, but Thomas Hancock, cooperated at that time with Macintosh, had solved this problem. For it the same substation appeared in America and England at the same time. Two years later Alexander Parkers learned that it is possible to vulcanize rubber by plunging into the solution of dichloride disulfuric. The characters of India rubber are adjusted next by so-called fulfilling. This filling increases firmness, improves resistance against growing old, electro – isolation or contrary electro conductivity [de – frosting of icing on the wings of airplanes].

The regenerate material is produced from old or waste India – rubber, which is suitable for next working up or vulcanization. Old tires are the main raw material.

India rubber found so great using, that the natural India rubber is not enough. In this time we use artificial, synthetic India rubber, which is usually other structure than the natural one, but with the similar characters. These India rubbers are two basic kinds: they supplement or substitute natural India rubber or they have special characters (for example silicone India rubber could be used in divide of temperatures from – 60°C to 200 °C).

(taken from  http://china-times.com/arc/rubber.jpg)