Natural rubber manufacturing process starts with tapping latex from rubber trees (Hevea Brasiliensis).
Tapping involves cutting into the bark of the tree.
Latex flows into a cup attached to the tree.
Latex is accumulated in tanks from many trees.
Rubber is most commonly extracted from latex using a process called coagulation, which thickens the polyisoprene into a mass.
Coagulation involves adding of an acid such as formic acid.
Once water is removed from the coagulum of rubber using a series of rollers, the resulting thin sheets are then dried over wooden racks in smokehouses.
The resulting dark-brown rubber is folded into bales.
Additional coagulation steps and different drying processes are used to achieve better grade rubber.
