Pilot scale production of irradiated natural rubber latex and its dipping products

The production of irradiated natural rubber latex (INRL) prepared from field latex or centrifuged natural rubber latex after adding with normal butyl acrylate (n-BA) as sensitizer then irradiated by gamma irradiation on pilot scale had been carried out. The quality of (INRL) or pre-vulcanized natural rubber latex (PVNRL) and its dipping product such as condom, sphygmomanometer, and gloves were evaluated. The economical aspect parameters on the production of INRL by gamma irradiator 200 k Cl, and electron bean machine (EBM) 250 ke V/10 mA, such as payback period (PP), net present value (NPV), profitability index (PI) and internal rate of return (IRR) of INRL with capacity production 1000 ton INRL/year were evaluated. The results showed that the latex properties of INRL such as DRC, TSC, KOH, VFA, and MST number did were not only found to the requirement of the ISO 2004 standard but also the latex had low protein, lipid, and carbohydrate content. The physical and mechanical properties (tensile strength, modulus, and elongation at break) of rubber dipping products such as condom, gloves, and sphygmomanometer were not only found to the requirement of ISO 4074, ISO 10282, and ANSI/AAMI SP-1994 standards, but also the allergic response tested clinical latex-sensitive protein allergen by ELISA test on gloves, and by SPT test on condom are found to be negative. It indicated that production of INRL or PVNRL or RVNRL by EBM 250 ke V/10 mA, was more cheap than by using gamma gamma irradiation 200 k Ci or sulfur vulcanization. The value of PBP (payback period) was 2.1 years, NPV (net present value) was US $ 4,250 PI (profitability index) 1.06 and IRR (internal rate of returns) was 25.0 percent.