Foam rubber
Encyclopedia
Foam rubber refers to rubber
that has been manufactured with a foaming agent
to create an air-filled matrix structure. Commercial foam rubbers are generally either polyurethane
foam or natural foam rubber latex
. Latex foam rubber, used in mattresses, is well-known for its endurance.
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
that has been manufactured with a foaming agent
Foaming agent
A foaming agent is a surfactant, which when present in small amounts, facilitates the formation of a foam, or enhances its colloidal stability by inhibiting the coalescence of bubbles....
to create an air-filled matrix structure. Commercial foam rubbers are generally either polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
foam or natural foam rubber latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
. Latex foam rubber, used in mattresses, is well-known for its endurance.
See also
- Talalay ProcessTalalay ProcessThe Talalay process is a method of producing molded pieces of natural latex foam rubber. A natural liquid latex rubber base is introduced to a closed mold that has been vacuumed of air. The mold is then frozen to stabilize the cell structure. Carbon dioxide gas is introduced and the mold is...
, a method of producing molded natural foam rubber of uniform density