Rubber trees thrive in the moist, hot climate belt that roughly parallels the equator. When early European explorers returned from the tropical New World with high-bouncing samples of water-repellent latex sap, the substance was deemed miraculous. Today, due to the widespread use of synthetics, people are beginning to associate rubber plants with interior design rather than heavy industry.
That attitude is understandable, but inaccurate. As the infant automobile industry began to expand, most of the tires for new vehicles were made from vulcanized rubber. Wartime trade disruptions sparked development of practical rubber replacements derived from petroleum products, and the later introduction of radial tire technology further decreased demand.
In spite of these and other technological advances, genuine rubber is in no danger of disappearing. It still boasts some chemical and structural properties superior to synthetic products. Even though real rubber comprises only 14% of a typical car tire, those figures are reversed in applications requiring high performance and durability, such as trucks and buses, racing cars, and especially heavy aircraft.
Natural rubber also plays a vital role in other industries, including paper and carpet manufacturing. Less visible is its common use in engine belts, window fittings, and other smaller vehicle parts. It even plays a small part in determining car insurance rates. Plantation-grown rubber still comprises 30% of the market, but that substantial presence does not guarantee immunity from rising fuel costs.
The raw product must still be shipped from the tropics to manufacturing centers at great expense. For this reason alone, research is forging ahead in an effort to perfect new ways of creating organic rubber compounds via microorganisms, a process dubbed synthetic biology. Various types of bacteria are being genetically engineered to grow the same substances currently made from fossil fuels.
So far, scientists have been able to redesign microbes to produce a close approximation of natural rubber, in addition to many other related substances. While this new frontier is promising, even it is not free from environmental concerns, including the need to produce huge amounts of bio-mass in order to feed the microbes, and the elimination of many traditional jobs for farmers.
Climate change is another concern. In southeast Asia, steadily rising temperatures have forced relocation of some production, while increased storm activities threaten specific growing areas, rendering them unusable. Yet, even with all the dangers and difficulties associated with raising this crop, increased vehicle production for burgeoning new world markets guarantees that real rubber will never be completely replaced.
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Allan Koenen
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