Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of natural rubber from Hevea brasiliensis clones

Natural rubber (NR) is a raw material that presents unique properties and has many industrial applications. However, due to the global commercial demand for rubber, there is still need for research to increase its production and quality. In this work, the physicochemical, thermal, and structural properties of the latex and dry rubber of four rubber tree clones and the relation to NR final properties were assessed over two extraction periods. The intra- and inter-clone comparison results were evaluated using analysis of variance and the multiple comparison tests. The greatest variation among clones and between tapping periods was observed with regard to chemical composition. All clones showed uniformity in the thermal and structural evaluations. The results allowed comparison among the clones, the extraction periods and within the same clone, enabling analysis of performance and uniformity of the rubber produced, which are highly wanted characteristics in the NR and latex industry.