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Quality
Industry Standards
National Standards
ISO Standards
The distinction between industry, national, and international standards is for sake of conceptual clarity only. Industry standards are
incorporated in national and international (ISO) standards. Testing for compliance under most domestic schemes shall follow ISO
methodologies. ISO standards are used as such or implemented through incorporation in the national standards of individual
countries.
Differences in types and grades are of major commercial significance. Indeed, the NR market is highly fragmented by types and,
within each types, grades, with sizeable variations in trade flows and price movements.

Industry Standards
Two main grading systems exist:
1. Natural rubber graded by the conventional visual standards given in the "Green Book" of the International Rubber Quality and
Packing Conference" (Visually Graded Types)
2. Natural rubber graded by technical specifications (Technically Specified Rubbers)
Specialty grades have been separately developed for rubbers with specialty applications.
Visually graded types

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Conventional types of rubber (that is, rubber processed into sheet rubber and various crepes) are still visually inspected and graded
according to quality and packing specifications set in the "International Standards of Quality and Packing for Natural Rubber
Grades (The Green Book)". These standards were first issued and then revised within the framework of the "International Rubber
and Packing Conference", comprising the world's leading rubber manufacturers, growers and trade associations. The grading system
was based on the classification first developed in 1928 by the US "Rubber Manufacturers Association" (then "Rubbers Association
of America").
Sheet and crepe rubbers intended for export shall be classified into one of the following grades:
Standard international grades of NR
Form
Sheet rubber

Crepe Rubber

Types

Grades

Ribbed Smoked Sheet (RSS)

1X, 1-5

Pale Latex Crepe (PLC), thin and tick

1X, 1-3

Sole Crepe (SC)

Estate Brown Crepe (EBC), thin and tick

1X-3X

Thin Brown Crepe

1-4

Thick Blanket Crepe

2-4

Flat Bark Crepe

Standard, hard

Smoked Blanket Crepe

Pure

Source: International Standards of Quality and Packing for Natural Rubber Grades (The Green Book)

Ribbed Smoked Sheets (RSS)

Ribbed smoked sheets are graded on a visual basis as RSS IX, RSS 1, RSS 2, RSS 3, RSS 4 and RSS 5. After grading the sheets are
packed in 50 kg bales, with the grades marked on the bales.
For more detailed information on RSS grading, please refer to the International Grade Descriptions for Sheet Rubber (Rubber
Board, India).
Crepe Rubber
Crepe rubber is either made from latex ("Latex Crepes") or processed from cup lumps, scrap and cuttings of ribbed sheet rubber
("Field Coagulum Crepes", or "Remilled Crepes").
Latex crepe is graded as "Pale Latex Crepe" (PLC, from fresh field latex) and "Sole Crepe" (SC, obtained from dried PLC). There
are 8 grades under the PLC category, with the purest being 1X (the difference between tick and thin grades is only in thickness).
Pale and sole crepes are more specialised than remilled crepes, and yield a higher premium. With both latex crepes, and especially
the sole crepe, the colour represents an important element in marketing and pricing (a higher premium being obtained with a lighter
coloured product).
Remilled crepe rubber prepared from field coagulum materials fall into five categories (further graded on a visual basis):
1. Estate Brown Crepe (EBC), thin and tick (made from lump and other high grade rubber scrap (field coagulam) generated on
rubber estates) - 6 grades
2. Thin Brown Crepe (Remills), (derived from wet slab coagulum, unsmoked sheets and cup lumps) - 4 different grades
3. Thick Blanket Crepe (Ambers), (wet slabs, unsmoked sheets or other high grade scraps) - 3 grades
4. Flat Bark Crepe, (processed from all types of low grades scrap including earth scrap) - 2 grades
5. Pure Smoked Blanket Crepe, (exclusively derived from ribbed smoked sheet or cuttings)
For more information on the visual grading of crepe rubber, see the relevant section of the J&J Trade Links rubber grade section.
Technically specified rubber (TSR)
The conventional grading system outlined above had many disadvantages, in that it was based on subjective assessments and only
recognised visual distinctions that could not have much technical significance. A major step towards evolving a more sophisticated
classification for rubber was the development of a grading system strictly based on technical specifications. The move away from
visual grading to technical specifications originated in Malaysia in the 1960s with the "Standard Malaysian Rubber" (SMR) scheme.
This prompted producers in other countries (notably, Indonesia and Thailand) to develop similar technical specifications for grades.
"Technically Specified Rubbers" (TSR) - that is, rubbers graded on the basis of technical parameters - now account for the bulk of
traded rubber. Standardised international contracts for such rubber were first adopted by the International Rubber Association at its
inaugural meeting on 24 September 1971.
Rubber is technically specified according to the following sets of rules, which are incorporated and detailed in the national standards
of individual countries:
A- Technical specifications: TSR is graded on technical properties, rather than on visual distinctions. Technical parameters for
grading are expressed as either maximum or minimum thresholds (detailed under national TSR schemes). For each grade, the dirt
content, ash content, volatile matter content, nitrogen content, plasticity, and colour are tested by instruments. Testing for
compliance shall follow ISO test methods.

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ISO has specified 6 different grades of TSR, namely, TSR L (high quality and light coloured rubber prepared from latex), TSR CV
(viscosity-stabilised high quality latex rubber), TSR 5 (good quality latex rubber, darker than TSR L), TSR 10 and 20 (good quality
grades derived from field coagulum, suitable for general purpose uses), TSR 50 (up to 0.50 % wt dirt content). The specifications
and characteristics of TSR are detailed in the following table.
TSR specifications
Parameters

Grades
TSR CV

TSR L

TSR 5

TSR 10

TSR 20

TSR - 50

Dirt (max) %wt

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.10

0.20

0.50

Ash (max) %wt

0.60

0.60

0.50

0.75

1.00

1.50

Nitrogen (max) % wt

0.60

0.60

0.50

0.60

0.60

0.60

Volatile matter (max) % wt

0.80

0.80

0.80

0.80

0.80

0.80

30

30

30

30

30

60

60

50

40

30

Initial wallace plasticity Po (Min)

Plasticity Retention Index PRI (Min)

60

Colour Lovibond Scale

(individual value, max)
Mooney viscosity (ML, 1+4, 100C)

6
605

Source: ISO-2000

B- Packing specifications (specifications with regard to nominal dimensions and weight of bales and crates, as well as technical
requirements for wrapping materials).
C- Registration (suppliers of TSR are required to apply for registration with the competent authority; TSR for shipments is to be
accompanied by technical specifications issued by authorised laboratories; bales of TSR must be marked with the registered TSR
symbol and the authorised grade).
The prime objective of the scheme was to standardise the marketing of new forms of natural rubber (block rubbers). However,
conventional types of rubber (sheet rubber and crepe rubber) may also be graded on technical properties if they are supplied
according to packing specifications and meet technical requirements.
Latex concentrate
Unlike sheet and crepe rubber, latex concentrate is graded according to detailed technical specifications (as for block rubber).
Technical specifications are separately established by both the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) and the British
Standards Institution (BSI). National and international standards are substantially identical in their requirements. Commercial latex
is nowadays mainly prepared by centrifugation, with only two types made on a large scale:
1. HA (high-ammonia) latex, preserved with 0.7% ammonia
2. LA-TZ (low ammonia) latex, preserved with 0.2% ammonia + 0.025% TMTD/ZnO +0.04 - 0.05% lauric acid as ammonium
laurate.
Specialty grades
For more information on the grades of special purpose rubbers, please refer to Astlett Rubber's specialty grades page.

National Standards
Individual rubber producing countries are in charge of setting the acceptable limits for each grade of rubber they produce. The main
rubber producing countries have their own schemes patterned after the TSR scheme. National schemes conform to specifications
laid down by the International Standards Organisation (ISO).
Comparison chart
TSR CV
TSR L
TSR 5
TSR 10
TSR 20

Constant viscosity grade

Latex rubber
Sheet rubber
Field grade material
Field grade material

Source: Astlett Rubber

For more information on domestic rubber schemes, please refer to the following pages:
Malaysian Rubber (Technical note, Department of Statistics Malaysia); Department of Standards Malaysia (subject index:
standards for "Rubber", "Rubber latices", "Rubber latex concentrate")

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Indonesian Rubber (The R-S Information Center for Natural Rubber)

Rubber Grades, India (M/s J&J Trade Links corporate page); Indian Rubber (The Rubber Board, statutory body constituted by
the Government of India for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country)
Papua Rubber Regulation

ISO Standards
To date, ISO's work has resulted in some 127 international standards for "rubber"; 55 standards for "latex and raw rubber"; 30
standards for "rubber compounding ingredients". Standards have been enacted for all the following fields:
ICS fields
83.040
83.040.01
83.040.20

Coverage
Raw materials for rubber and plastics
Raw materials for rubber and plastics in general
Rubber compounding ingredients (Including carbon black, kaolin clay, etc.)

83.060

Rubber

83.140

Rubber and plastics products (Including films and sheets, laminated sheets, hoses, seals, etc.)

83.160

Tyres (Including tubes and valves)

83.180

Adhesives

83.200

Equipment for the rubber and plastics industries

Source: UNCTAD secretariat (ISO Standards browsed by ICS fields)

ISO International Standards are voluntary, unless incorporated into domestic law. In practice, because they are developed in
response to market demand, ISO standards tend to have wide industry application irrespective of whether they have been
incorporated into domestic law or not.
Details of ISO International Standards for rubber and rubber products are listed in this section of the ISO website;
More on the ISO Technical Committee on rubber and rubber products.
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