There a familiar nuisance to gardeners around the world-yet dandelions could be about to redeem themselves by becoming a source for sustainable rubber for use in cars.
Ford and The Ohio State University are working together to examine the potential of using the milky white substance which seeps from the weed’s roots could be used to produce rubber and be used to create plastic parts in Ford vehicles, including cupholders, floor mats and interior trim.
However not all dandelions are created equal, and it is a particular variety, the Russian dandelion- or Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS)-which is suitable for rubber production.
“We’re always looking for new sustainable materials to use in our vehicles that have a smaller carbon footprint to produce and can be grown locally,” said Angela Harris, Ford research engineer. “Synthetic rubber is not a sustainable resource, so we want to minimise its use in our vehicles when possible. Dandelions have the potential to serve as a great natural alternative to synthetic rubber in our products.”
The car maker says it could potentially use TKS rubber as a plastics modifier, to help improve the impact strength of plastics.
The new research into dandelion rubber is another step in Ford’s “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” strategy, designed to reduce its environmental footprint of its vehicles.
Over the past several years Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of non-metal recycled and bio-based materials whenever possible, provided these materials are environmentally favourable in the specific application. Examples include soy foam seat cushions, wheat straw-filled plastic, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fibre plastic for interior components.
