One of the most recent important events in the history of chemistry
was the discovery by an English professor that a substance
corresponding in every respect to India rubber may be produced from
oil of turpentine.
Dr. W. A. Tilden, professor of chemistry in Mason College, Birmingham,
began a series of experiments with a liquid hydrocarbon substance,
known to chemists as isoprene, which was primarily discovered and
named by Greville Williams, a well known English chemist, some years
ago as a product of the destructive distillation of India rubber. In
1884, says The New York Sun, Dr. Tilden discovered that an identical
substance was among the more volatile compounds obtained by the action
of moderate heat upon oil of turpentine and other vegetable oils, such
as rape seed oil, linseed oil and castor oil.
Isoprene is a very volatile liquid, boiling at a temperature of about
30 degrees Fahrenheit. Chemical analysis shows it to be composed of
carbon and hydrogen in the proportions of five to eight.
In the course of his experiments Dr. Tilden found that when isoprene
is brought into contact with strong acids, such as aqueous
hydrochloric acid, for example, it is converted into a tough elastic
solid, which is, to all appearances, true India rubber.
Specimens of isoprene were made from several vegetable oils in the
course of Dr. Tilden's work on those compounds. He preserved several
of them and stowed the bottles containing them away upon an unused
shelf in his laboratory.
After some months had elapsed he was surprised at finding the contents
of the bottles containing the substance derived from the turpentine
entirely changed in appearance. In place of a limpid, colorless liquid
the bottles contained a dense sirup, in which were floating several
large masses of a solid of a yellowish color. Upon examination this
turned out to be India rubber.
This is the first instance on record of the spontaneous change of
isoprene into India rubber. According to the doctor's hypothesis, this
spontaneous change can only be accounted for by supposing that a small
quantity of acetic or formic acid had been produced by the oxidizing
action of the air, and that the presence of this compound had been the
means of transforming the rest.
Upon inserting the ordinary chemical test paper, the liquid was found
to be slightly acid. It yielded a small portion of unchanged isoprene.
The artificial India rubber found floating in the liquid upon analysis
showed all the constituents of natural rubber. Like the latter, it
consisted of two substances, one of which was more soluble in benzine
or in carbon bisulphide than the other. A solution of the artificial
rubber in benzine left on evaporation a residue which agreed in all
characteristics with the residuum of the best Para rubber similarly
dissolved and evaporated.
The artificial rubber was found to unite with natural rubber in the
same way as two pieces of ordinary pure rubber, forming a tough,
elastic compound.
Although the discovery is very interesting from a chemical point of
view, it has not as yet any commercial importance. It is from such
beginnings as these, however, that cheap chemical substitutes for many
natural products have been developed. Few persons outside of those
directly connected with rubber industries realize the vast quantities
imported yearly into this country. Last year there were brought into
United States ports, as shown by the reports of the customs officers,
no less than 34,348,000 pounds of India rubber. The industry has been
steadily progressive since the invention of machinery for
manufacturing it into the various articles of everyday use. The
wonderful growth of the India rubber interests in this country will be
seen from the statistics compiled in the tenth census.
In 1870 there were imported 5,132,000 pounds at an average rate of $1
per pound; in 1880 the imports were 17,835,000 pounds, at an average
price of 85 cents per pound; in 1890 31,949,000 pounds were imported,
at an average price of 75 cents per pound. The present price of India
rubber varies from 75 cents per pound for fine Para rubber to 45 cents
per pound for the cheapest grade.
It will be seen that, notwithstanding the increase in importations,
the price of the raw material remains at a comparatively high figure.
Many experiments have been made to find a substance possessing the
same properties as India rubber, but which could be produced at a
cheaper rate.
Many of the compositions which have been invented have been well
adapted for use for certain purposes and have been used to adulterate
the pure rubber, but no substance has been produced which could even
approach India rubber in several of its important characteristics.
There has never been a substance yet recommended as a substitute for
rubber which possessed the extraordinary elasticity which makes it
indispensable in the manufacture of so many articles of common use.
Great hopes were at one time placed in a product prepared from linseed
oil. It was found that a material could be produced from it which
would to a certain extent equal India rubber compositions in
elasticity and toughness.
It was argued that linseed oil varnish, when correctly prepared,
should be clear, and dry in a few hours into a transparent, glossy
mass of great tenacity. By changing the mode of preparing linseed oil
varnish in so far as to boil the oil until it became a very thick
fluid and spun threads, when it was taken from the boiler, a mass was
obtained which in drying assumed a character resembling that of a
thick, congealed solution of glue.
Resin was added to the mass while hot, in a quantity depending upon
the product designed to be made, and requiring a greater or less
degree of elasticity.
Many other recipes have been advocated at different times to make a
product resembling caoutchouc out of linseed oil in combination with
other substances, but all have failed to give satisfaction, save as
adulterants to pure rubber.
Among the best compounds in use in rubber factories at present is one
made by boiling linseed oil to the consistency of thick glue.
Unbleached shellac and a small quantity of lampblack is then stirred
in. The mass is boiled and stirred until thoroughly mixed. It is then
placed in flat vessels exposed to the air to congeal.
While still warm the blocks formed in the flat vessels are passed
between rollers to mix it as closely as possible. This compound was
asserted by its inventor to be a perfect substitute for caoutchouc. It
was also stated that it could be vulcanized. This was found to be an
error, however. The compound, upon the addition of from 15 to 25 per
cent. of pure rubber, may be vulcanized and used as a substitute for
vulcanized rubber.
Compounds of coal tar, asphalt, etc., with caoutchouc have been
frequently tested, but they can only be used for very inferior goods.
The need for a substitute for gutta percha is even more acute than for
artificial India rubber. A compound used in its stead for many
purposes is known as French gutta percha. This possesses nearly all
the properties of gutta percha. It may be frequently used for the same
purposes and has the advantage of not cracking when exposed to the
air.
Its inventors claimed that it was a perfect substitute for India
rubber and gutta percha, fully as elastic and tough and not
susceptible to injury from great pressure or high temperature.
The composition of this ambitious substance is as follows: One part,
by weight, of equal parts of wood tar oil and coal tar oil, or of the
latter alone, is heated for several hours at a temperature of from 252
to 270 degrees Fahrenheit, with two parts, by weight, of hemp oil,
until the mass can be drawn into threads. Then one-half part, by
weight, of linseed oil, thickened by boiling, is added. To each 100
parts of the compound one-twentieth to one-tenth part of ozokerite and
the same quantity of spermaceti are added.
The entire mixture is then again heated to 252 degrees Fahrenheit and
one-fifteenth to one-twelfth part of sulphur is added. The substance
thus obtained upon cooling is worked up in a similar manner to natural
India rubber. It has not been successfully used, however, without the
addition of a quantity of pure rubber to give it the requisite
elasticity.
A substitute for gutta percha is obtained by boiling the bark of the
birch tree, especially the outer part, in water over an open fire.
This produces a black fluid mass, which quickly becomes solid and
compact upon exposure to air.
Each gutta percha and India rubber factory has a formula of its own
for making up substances as nearly identical with the natural product
as possible, which are used to adulterate the rubber and gutta percha
used in the factory. No one has as yet, however, succeeded in
discovering a perfect substitute for either rubber or gutta percha.
The history of chemistry contains many instances where natural
products have been supplanted by artificial compounds possessing the
same properties and characteristics. One of the most notable of these
is the substance known as alizarine, the coloring matter extracted
from the madder root. This, like India rubber, is a hydrocarbon.
Prior to 1869 all calico printing was done with the coloring matter
derived from the madder root, and its cultivation was a leading
industry in the eastern and southern portions of Europe.
In 1869 alizarine was successfully produced from the refuse coal tar
of gas works and the calico printing business was revolutionized.
The essence of vanilla, made from the vanilla bean, and used as a
flavoring extract, has been supplanted by the substance christened
vanilla by chemists, which possesses the same characteristics and is
made from sawdust.
Isoprene, from which Dr. Tilden produced India rubber, is
comparatively a new product, as derived from oil of turpentine. It yet
remains to be seen whether rubber can be synthetically produced
certainly and cheaply. The result of further experiments will be
awaited with interest, as the production of artificial rubber at
moderate cost would be an event of enormous importance.
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