Though Natural rubber has been available since time immemorial, synthetic rubber has come of use for less than a hundred years. Synthetic rubber plants were built around the world after 1945, primarily in North America, Japan and Europe. In 1960, use of synthetic rubber was more than that of natural rubber for the first time. Synthetic rubber has maintained this lead since then. As per a report published in 2001, the world makes around 11.5 million tonnes of synthetic rubber each year. USA is the largest producer by far, followed by China, the EU and Japan.

What is synthetic rubber?
Rubber is a collective term for macromolecular substances of natural origin known as natural rubber (NR) or synthetic origin or manmade known as synthetic rubber (SR). Synthetic rubber is a white, crumbly, plastic mass which is processed and vulcanized in the same manner as natural rubber. In other words, synthetic rubber is an artificially produced material having properties similar to natural rubber. Most synthetic rubbers are obtained by polymerization or polycondensation of unsaturated monomers. There are wide varieties of different synthetic rubbers, reflecting the various different applications and the chemical and mechanical properties they have. Co-polymerization of different monomers leads to the material properties to be varied across a wide range.

Factors leading to synthetic rubber production
Though, World war II became the force for the emergence of synthetic rubber on a large-scale basis when governments began building plants to balance natural rubber shortages, there were other various reasons as well after the war which led to the development of an alternative or substitute for natural rubber. Some important factors resulting to the production of synthetic rubber are

• Rising prices for natural rubber on the world market in response to the general state of the economy
• Political events which cut customers off from the suppliers of raw materials
• Long transport distances
• Regional constraints with respect to establishing rubber plantations
• The increase in global demand for rubber.

Production Process of Synthetic Rubber
Synthetic rubber can be produced in different ways. One common process is shown below:

Source:
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Application
Like natural rubber, synthetic rubber has a varied range of applications, such as follows:

• Tire industry (car, aircraft and bicycle tires)
• Drive belts
• Hoses
• Medical equipment
• Seals
• Floor coverings
• Conveyor belts
• Molded parts etc.

Properties of Synthetic rubber
There are different varieties of synthetic rubber, each having their unique properties. Some of the common properties of synthetic rubber are as follows:

• Better abrasion resistance
• Good Elasticity
• Better heat and aging resistance
• Electrical insulation material
• Flexible at low temperatures
• Flame retardant
• Resistant to grease& oil etc.