One of the biggest limitations of natural rubber is its poor resistance to hydrocarbons, fats, oils, and greases. Contact with these substances can cause swelling, softening, or complete dissolution of the rubber part resulting in partial or complete failure.
In addition to excellent wear resistance, NATURAL RUBBER also offers low permanent set characteristics plus good flexing qualities at low temperatures. DISADVANTAGES: NATURAL RUBBER does not perform well when exposed to chemicals and petroleum derivatives, including petrochemicals.
Like any other polymer, natural rubber has some disadvantages as well. It does not have very strong heat resistance and is only able to withstand temperatures as high as 180° F (82° C). Due to the presence of double bonds on the backbone of the polymer, natural rubber is susceptible to being attacked by ozone.
Natural rubber is widely considered a more eco-friendly and better product than synthetic rubber, but it still presents some issues. Natural rubber contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss, pollution, and more. But climate change and disease also threaten natural rubber.
The downsides of natural latex. Latex has few downsides when used for mattresses. These include cost, weight, and a slight rubbery smell at first.
Because natural rubber is a natural resource harvested from plants, for most human beings it is a safe material to use.
Natural rubber is made from plants, so it is biodegradable. But since synthetic rubber uses man-made polymers derived from petroleum, these ingredients will persist in the natural environment and be a source of pollution after the item breaks down.
Rubber biodegradation is a slow process, and the growth of bacteria utilizing rubber as a sole carbon source is also slow. Therefore, incubation periods extending over weeks or even months are required to obtain enough cell mass or degradation products of the polymers for further analysis.
Hard Rubber Lining Disadvantages:
1- Due to the lack of rubber accelerators, hard rubber lining require much longer curing times at much higher temperatures. Exhaust steam curing is not possible. 2- Hard rubber, when cured, has very low elongation.
Various factors are affecting the price of natural rubber-like demand and supply conditions, export and import, currency fluctuations, crude oil price, synthetic rubber etc.
The material can contain heavy metals like lead and manganese, volatile organic compounds like toluene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The chemicals are associated with cancer and other illnesses at certain levels of exposure.
The EPA has identified rubber tire manufacturing facilities as major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions.
Natural rubber lasts anywhere between 5 to 25 years. This depends on what it's used for, the frequency, and the environment it's used in. It lasts a shorter time if exposed to the elements, especially extreme temperatures.
In its useful forms, natural rubber boasts a large stretch ratio, high resilience and is extremely waterproof.
Natural Rubber (NR) Gum
It has good abrasion resistance and excellent low temperature flexibility. Without special additives, it has poor resistance to ozone, oxygen, sunlight and heat. It has poor resistance to solvents and petroleum products. Useful temperature range is -67° F to +180° F (-55° C to +82° C).
As a material, rubber doesn't readily ignite, but when it is alight, the spread of fire and smoke can be rapid, with the material burning at extremely high temperatures. At 200°C, rubber begins to flow as a hot mass. At 230°C, it emits flammable vapours that can become trapped in the molten rubber.
Natural rubber is derived from the sap of the rubber tree, called latex, whose particular odour intensifies when the latex coagulates with exposure to air. When the latex is combined with other chemicals during manufacturing, the result is that 'rubber tyre' smell.
So, the truth is, natural rubber is not inherently dangerous unless your dog is somehow allergic to it, which is quite rare. It all depends on whether or not the toy is made out of chemicals that can be harmful, coated in toxic chemicals, or even packaged with chemicals that can be potentially harmful.
On the other hand, natural rubber is known for its properties as a strong, flexible and heat-resistant material used to create latex products.
Natural rubber is extremely tough, making it excellent for strenuous uses. Once treated, it's highly resistant to tearing and abrasion. Additionally, natural rubber has a high tensile strength, which makes it suitable for shock absorption and other regular contact uses.
Although materials such as rubber, textiles, adhesives, and paint may in some cases meet this definition, they are not considered plastics.