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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Natural rubber is an indispensible ingredient in tens of thousands of applications, from car and aircraft tyres to medical equipment. Nearly all this rubber currently has its origins in rubber tree plantations in Asia. In the European DRIVE4EU project, Wageningen UR is working with international companies and research institutes to develop a European alternative: natural rubber from the Russian dandelion [phys.org].

Ingrid van der Meer from Wageningen UR is coordinator of DRIVE4EU (Dandelion Rubber and Inulin Valorization and Exploitation for Europe). She underlines the importance of a fully-fledged alternative to Hevea brasiliensis, the official name of the rubber tree. "At this time the world is totally reliant on Southeast Asia. In South America, where the first plantations were located, large-scale cultivation has become impossible due to a fungal disease. If the disease should spread to Asia the production of natural rubber would come to a halt. There needs to be an alternative."
...
Although natural rubber is found in at least 2,500 plant varieties, most of these are unsuitable for the large-scale production of good quality rubber. A previous project, EU-PEARLS, showed that the Russian dandelion, or Taraxacum koksaghyz, is a viable option. DRIVE4EU is now focused on the development of a successful production chain in Europe. And it is going well, according to Van der Meer: "We have made considerable progress across all links of the chain."

The poor, maligned dandelion. Wine can be made from its blossom, and salad from its leaves.

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