Production of natural rubber from Para rubber tree

Natural rubber as a composite of poly cisisoprene and minor componentsNatural rubber is a biopolymer consisting of isoprene units (C 5 H 8 )n linked together in a 1,4 cis-configuration.Various latex-producing plants synthesize natural rubber in their specifically differentiated cells in a manner such that C5-monomer units, isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) molecules, are sequentially condensed into allylic primers, like FPP or GPP by cis-prenyltransferase (Figure 1) (Takahashi 2006).Not only poly cis-isoprene molecules, but also other cellular components, are included in the latex.Namely, natural rubber is, in a sense, a composite of these components, while synthetic rubber is almost simply composed of poly-isoprene with not more than 90% of cis-bond.Because of its molecular structure (high cis-bond content of over 99.5%) and high molecular weight (more than 1ϫ10 6 Da) of polymer component and yet-to-be-defined contributions of minor components in the latex, such as proteins, minerals, carbohydrates and lipids, natural rubber has superior resilience, elasticity, abrasion resistance, efficient heat dispersion and impact resistance to synthetic rubber. Uses of natural rubber and its importance in tire productionNatural rubber is used in over 40,000 products, including tires, medical devices, surgical gloves and various engineering and consumer products (Mooibroek 2000).Of these end-use markets for natural rubber, tire products accounts for over 50% of natural rubber consumption.Natural rubber continues to hold an important position in tire consumption, competing with synthetic rubber.Because of its superior tear strength and excellent resistance to heat, natural rubber is better-suited for