Continental Tire Testing Natural Rubber from Dandelions
Someday, heavy-duty truck tires could be made from dandelions by unicorns.
Ok. Not by unicorns, but Continental Tire said it is researching using dandelion natural rubber as a polymer and “key component” of future tires.
Plans are in place to begin manufacturing consumer road tires made from dandelion-derived rubber in five to 10 years, the Fort Mill, South Carolina-based company said.
“In agricultural terms, dandelions are an undemanding plant, growing in moderate climates, even in the northern hemisphere, and can be cultivated on land not suitable for food production,” Dr. Carla Recker, who heads the Continental team involved in the development of this material, said in a statement. “This means that rubber production is conceivable near our tire factories, for instance, and the significantly shorter transport routes would also reduce CO2 emissions.”
Global demand for natural rubber taken from rubber trees is set to rise in the next few years and at the same time, the changing world makes it challenging to meet this demand, it said.
The initial tests run so far demonstrate that the tire made from the dandelion-derived rubber the company calls Taraxagum show an equivalent, “property profile” when compared to tires made from conventional natural rubber, it said.
Continental said it isn’t using just any old dandelion but a specific Russian species, which is the only dandelion that can be used as an alternative source for natural rubber production.
Its roots contain the natural rubber latex — the source for natural rubber used in tires — meaning, the company said, supply will be steadier and easier to control, leading to greater price stability. This crop is also much less sensitive to weather than the rubber tree.
