Raw materials for rubber

Natural rubbers and synthetic rubbers

There are two main raw materials for rubber: natural rubber and synthetic rubber.

Natural rubber is derived from tree sap.
It is made by scratching rubber trees and coagulating the sap that oozes out.
There are many species of rubber tree, including para-rubber and India rubber.
Currently, most natural rubber production is in South-East Asia.

Synthetic rubber is based on naphtha, which is produced when petroleum is refined.
It is one of the petrochemical derivatives made from basic petroleum products such as ethylene propylene, propylene and butadiene, which are produced by cracking naphtha.
Today, synthetic rubber is more commonly used than natural rubber.