Synthetic rubber is used for a variety of purposes across many different industries and is often created in bulk for use in processes such as Rubber Injection Moulding where the rubber is heated to high temperatures and placed under high pressure when placed in the required moulds.
The first form of synthetic rubber was created was butadiene which was developed in 1910 by Sergei Lebedev, a Russian scientist. It was used during World War I in Russia due to the shortage of natural rubber. By 1925 the price of natural rubber had increased so dramatically that many countries were looking at ways in which they could mass produce synthetic rubber. By 1932 Lebedev had established the first synthetic rubber plant in Europe and by 1935 German chemists had created a different type of synthetic rubber.
Since these early days synthetic rubber has been developed into many different forms including the more well-known neoprene and PVC and is used in creating everything from the tyres on our vehicles through to the window frames on our houses and even the wellington boots that we wear on our feet in the winter. Rubber is found in many more items that you would first think.