The development of sustainable alternative to neoprene wetsuit fabric

Abstract

This research work is done to produce an environmentally friendly alternative to be used in the manufacturing of wetsuit and other similar products and to assess thermal, mechanical and sustainable aspects in comparison with neoprene wetsuit material. The thermal conductivity measurements show that the developed material insulates better than existing wetsuit material. When considering stretchability, the natural rubber based composite has a slightly higher modulus than the neoprene wetsuit material. The tensile assessment revealed that developed material is stronger than the neoprene material. Lowest thermal conductivity has shown by developed material with higher thickness than neoprene wetsuit material indicating the thickness of material influenced the thermal properties. There is a significant environmental gain for the new material in using natural rubber. The natural rubber wetsuit material is cheaper to produce due to lower prices of natural rubber compared to neoprene. The calendaring method used to produce samples in this report can be automated to overcome drawbacks when scaling up production.