We
are going to be diving into the world of elasticity and no way better than to
use the importance of “Rubber”.
When
people talk about “rubber”, they don’t usually specify what kind. There are
many different kinds of rubber, but they all fall into two broad types; natural
rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is made from runny, milky white
liquid called latex that oozes from certain plants when you cut into them while
Synthetic rubbers are made in chemical plants using petrochemicals.
During
World War II, Japan was occupying rubber three plantations in Southeast Asia,
and restricting the exportation of rubber, other countries began researching
the creation of an artificial rubber which could be used on the tires of the
many vehicles that were being produced during wartime and that was how the idea
and creation of synthetic rubber came about.
Till
date the Southeast Asians remain the highest producers of rubber.
Now
Let World Rubber & Plastic Expo take you to Nigeria
The
Importance of Rubber in Nigeria
Natural
rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) was introduced to Nigeria from England around
1895, with the first rubber estate established in Sapele in the present day
Delta State in 1903. By 1925, there were already thousands of hectares of
rubber estate that were predominantly owned by Europeans in Southern Nigeria.
Nigeria
has a vast potential for rubber production especially in many of the Southern
States in the country where the vegetative and climatic conditions are suitable
for its production. Rubber can be grown extensively in Edo, Delta, Ogun, Ondo,
Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Ebonyi, nearly 52,000 more
different products are made directly from rubber.
The
primary and major products of rubber latex (the milky, juice obtained from the
rubber tree) is very useful as it contains about 25-45% rubber by weight and
can be processed into secondary products such as crepe rubber, crumb rubber and
sheet rubber for onward processing into finished goods. Apart from Latex, the
rubber tree produces seeds and wood which are also of economic value to the
farmers. The rubber seeds when processed produce oil alkyd resins used for
paints, soaps, skin cream and hair shampoo.
Rubber contributes significantly to the
Nigerian economy by providing raw materials for agro-based industries, foreign
exchange earnings and in the provision of raw materials, it should be noted
that the uses to which rubber can be put is almost innumerable.
The aforementioned subject is brought to you, courtesy of National Mail.
National Mail is an online news platform of Trade Nigeria that focuses on business development, Investment, trade, economic exchange and development.
Follow National Mail on twitter, LinkedIn, and Nairaland for your one stop news update!
