Preparation and properties of starch xanthide encased powdered natural rubber

Abstract

Starch xanthide encased powdered natural rubber was produced by oxidatively co- precipitating the mixture of starch xanthate solution and natural rubber field latex under vigorous stirring. The resulting finely divided wet powdered rubber particles were separated by filtration and then converted to free-flowing powders by oven drying. The level of encapsulation as well as the properties of the resulting powder was highly dependent on the strength and the amount of the Starch Xanthate (SX) solution. The lower and the upper limits of Degree of Substitution (DS) of SX examined were 0.07 and 0.35 and the results suggested that the intermediate DS levels were more effective. The physical properties of the final vulcanizates were examined and found to be comparable with the rubbers available in the market.