Non-Hevea Rubber Purification via Organic Solvents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for isolating natural rubber from non-Hevea plants, such as Taraxacum kok-saghyz and Scorzonera species, are complex due to the rubber being stored within plant cells, requiring more intricate processes compared to Hevea trees, and result in impure rubber products with inferior mechanical properties.
Innovation Solution
An organic solvent-based process is developed to isolate purified natural rubber from non-Hevea plants, involving the use of rubber-soluble and insoluble solvents to achieve high purity levels, allowing up to 3.5% impurities, which can be used as a replacement for Hevea rubber in sulfur-vulcanizable and sulfur-vulcanized compounds, maintaining or improving mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If physical or other means are used to break down cell walls to access rubber from non-Hevea plants, then rubber can be extracted from non-Hevea plants, but the process becomes more complicated and entailed compared to Hevea tapping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies extraction by using organic solvents to selectively dissolve rubber from non-Hevea plant material, separating it from cellulose and other impurities. The process involves mixing plant material with rubber-soluble organic solvent, filtering to remove insoluble solids, then precipitating the dissolved rubber using rubber-insoluble organic solvent, thereby extracting pure rubber without complex cell wall breakdown procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the extraction system by using specific organic solvents with appropriate solubility characteristics. The process utilizes rubber-soluble organic solvent (e.g., toluene, hexane) to dissolve rubber at controlled ratios (2:100 to 20:100 weight ratio), then introduces rubber-insoluble organic solvent to precipitate the rubber, achieving purification through parameter-controlled chemical transformations
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional purification methods are used for non-Hevea rubber, then the rubber can be processed, but the resulting product has inferior mechanical properties due to impurities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses organic solvents as intermediary substances to achieve purification. The rubber-soluble organic solvent acts as a mediator to selectively dissolve rubber from impure plant material, while the rubber-insoluble organic solvent serves as a second mediator to precipitate and purify the rubber. This two-step intermediary process removes impurities while preserving rubber integrity, resulting in superior mechanical properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by selectively targeting rubber molecules for dissolution while leaving cellulose and other impurities undissolved. The organic solvent system creates a localized chemical environment that interacts specifically with rubber, allowing separation based on differential solubility properties of different components in the plant material
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process effectively purifies non-Hevea rubber to a level suitable for use in rubber compounds, achieving comparable or improved mechanical properties to Hevea rubber, making it a viable alternative for industrial applications.
Implementation Method 1
mixed with at least one rubber-soluble organic solvent at a weight ratio of from 2:100 to 20:100 thereby producing a quantity of dissolved rubber and a quantity of solids
Implementation Method 2
After mixing, the dissolved rubber is isolated from the solids to produce a dissolved rubber fraction that contains no more than 2% by weight solids
Implementation Method 3
The at least one rubber-soluble solvent is then removed from the dissolved rubber fraction to produce a solid rubber mass
Implementation Method 4
The solid rubber mass is mixed with at least one rubber-insoluble organic solvent at a weight ratio of 2:100 to 20:100 thereby dissolving a quantity of impurities from the solid rubber mass
Implementation Method 5
thereafter the remaining solid rubber mass is isolated from the at least one rubber-insoluble organic solvent to produce a purified natural rubber
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are organic solvent-based processes for the isolation of purified natural rubber from non-Hevea plants. The processes are particularly useful with plant matter that comprises at least 90% by weight roots sourced from Taraxacum kok-saghyz (Russian dandelion), Scorzonera tau-saghyz (Tau-Saghyz), Scorzonera uzbekistanica, and combinations thereof. Also provided herein is a purified non-Hevea rubber product containing 100 phr of rubber sourced from Taraxacum kok-saghyz, Scorzon-era tau-saghyz, Scorzonera uzbekistanica, and combinations thereof, having a specified purity level. Additionally provided are sulfur-vulcanizable rubber compounds and sulfur-vulcanized rubber compounds that incorporate 10-100 phr of purified non-Hevea rubber product sourced from Taraxacum kok-saghyz, Scorzonera tau-saghyz, Scorzonera uzbekistanica, and combinations thereof, having a specified purity level.