Rubber & Chemicals
RIBBED SMOKED SHEET (RSS)
Ribbed Smoked Sheet Rubber is commonly known as RSS. It is made directly from latex which is treated and then made to coagulate. The coagulated latex sheets are then air dried or smoked in ovens.The smoked sheets are visually graded on the basis of certain parameters and then packed in bales.
The size and weight of the bales differ according to the country. The standard packing is in small bales of either 33.33kg or 35kg per bale with 19.2 m/tons or 20.16 m/tons per 20’FCL.
TECHNICALLY SPECIFIED RUBBER (TSR)
Originally, most of the solid rubber used was in the form of ribbed smoked sheets or RSS rubber. By the early 1970s, however, TSR or rubber was introduced into the market.
TSR which is also known as block rubber is graded according to precise technical parameters such as dirt content, ash content, nitrogen content, volatile matter and properties of the rubber such as its Wallace Plasticity (PO) and its Plasticity Retention Index (PRI).
The TSR grades most widely used by the tyre and rubber industry are the TSR-20 and TSR-10 grades.
CONCENTRATED LATEX
Concentrated Latex is derived from Field Latex and is processed using centrifuge methods. It contains 60 percent Dry Rubber Content (DRC). There are two main types of concentrated Latex available in the market and these are the High Ammonia or Standard Ammonia Concentrate (HA Latex) and the Low Ammonia Concentrate (LA Latex).
Concentrated Latex is packed or shipped in three main ways. The first is in steel drums of net weight 205kg/drum. A 20’FCL can carry 80 drums with a net weight of 16.4 m/tons. The second method of packing is in disposable or non-returnableflexi-bags in containers carrying approximately 20m/tons per 20’ container. A third method of transporting latex is through returnable or leased iso-tanks.
