Natural Rubber from Dandelions!

Ohio State studies natural rubber crop

With the help of a $3 million grant, the Ohio State University's Ohio Ag. Research and Development Center (OARDC) and the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) are developing a renewable, domestic source of natural rubber from a dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS). TKS is native to the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Commonly known as Russian dandelion, TKS produces high-quality natural rubber in its fleshy taproot, comparable in performance to the latex extracted from the only commercially available source of natural rubber today: the Brazilian rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, grown almost exclusively in southeast Asia.

Natural rubber is essential for the U.S. economy and national security because it provides performance characteristics not available from synthetic, petroleum-derived rubber. North America consumes 2.7 billion pounds of natural rubber of which 80% is used in tires. Moreover, trucking, construction and aviation tires require a high percentage of natural rubber to meet performance characteristics making natural rubber critical to the nation’s trucking and construction industries as well as the U.S. strategic defenses. Aircraft tires require nearly 100% natural rubber to meet heat tolerance and required adhesion specifications.