The Making of Rubber

There are two types of rubber, the natural one and a synthetic one. Let's start with the natural one, a natural rubber is taken from a rubber tree called Hevea Brasiliensis. 

Hevea Brasiliensis is a species of rubberwood that is native to rainforests in the Amazon region of South America, including Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. These trees are generally found in low-altitude moist forests, wetlands, riparian zones, and forest gaps. 

Natural rubber is extracted by a method called tapping, by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid into vessels attached to the rubber trees. The liquid is a sticky, milky sap called latex, and requires a couple of steps before it will be sold as natural rubber

Here's a video of getting a rubber tree ready to be tapped

Another video for an all-through process

 

In contrast, synthetic rubber such as Polymers is made from various petroleum-based monomers. The most prevalent synthetic rubber is styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBR) derived from the copolymerization of styrene and 1,3-butadiene. The other type of synthetic rubber is synthetic latex. 

Also, there are rubber-like materials such as Silicone and Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC, Jelly PVC