B&W Documentary Photography – Rubber Factory in Cambodia

This documentary photography was submitted to Edge of Humanity Magazine by Photographer Philippe Hamiche.

 

Click on any image to see Philippe’s gallery of projects and photographs.

 

From project “Chup Rubber Factory, Kompong Cham Province, Cambodia“.

 

 

After the arrival of the employees at the factory, the latex is delivered, and then poured in ponds, where it is mixed with a mixture of water and formic acid which allows the latex to coagulate.

 

 

Having been mixed, the latex which has coagulated, is carried into the ponds for settling, where it stays for about ten hours so as to lose its density and gain in flexibility.

Next, it is pressed and forwarded to conveyor belts to be crushed and crumbled more and more finely.  Then it goes through several stages of wash before being sent to ovens.

 

 

Trolleys filled with the washed and crumbled latex are carried to several ovens.  The first oven heats the latex at a temperature of 120° so as to eliminate the water it contains.  Other ovens have a temperature which falls gradually until it reaches room temperature.

Next, the bundles are forwarded and checked so as to be pressed in blocks of 33kg each.  Then the blocks go through one last finishing cut and are packed and taken to transport cases which weigh approximately 1200kg.

 

 

See also:

Phoneographie

Myanmar

By Philippe Hamiche

 

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