PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FRESH NATURAL RUBBER FIELD LATEX, EPOXIDATED NATURAL RUBBER LATEX, PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF NATURAL RUBBER EPOXITY AND EPOXIDATED NATURAL RUBBER

摘要

A method for the treatment of fresh natural rubber field latex comprises incubating the field latex with a proteolytic enzyme at a pH suitable for the enzyme. The amount of enzyme present and the incubation conditions are such that the enzyme-treated field latex, when subsequently processed into epoxidised natural rubber latex, has improved coagulation and crepeing properties. A method for the preparation of epoxidised natural rubber from fresh natural rubber field latex is also described. This comprises i) incubating the field latex with a proteolytic enzyme at a pH suitable for the enzyme, ii) epoxidising the enzyme-treated field latex to the desired mole % level of epoxidation, iii) coagulating the epoxidised natural rubber latex, and iv) crepeing, washing, crumbling and drying the epoxidised natural rubber.