Based on historical precedence and earlier research, the Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) has been singled out in an international project, DRIVE4EU, of which GEA is a key partner. The collective goal is to develop a reliable chain for production of not only rubber, but also inulin – both of which are used in products from diverse industry sectors. 

The EU is committed to reducing its dependence on natural rubber resources in Asia and to finding a sustainable alternative. To this end, the EU chose in 2014 to co-finance the demonstration research project DRIVE4EU, which is coordinated by the Wageningen University & Research – the largest plant research institute in the Netherlands. Made up of professionals from biotechnology, breeding, agronomy, extraction & biorefinery and product manufacturing, DRIVE4EU is tasked with developing a European chain for the production and processing of natural rubber and inulin from Taraxacum kok-saghyz, otherwise known as TKS or Russian dandelion which is native to Kazakhstan.

DRIVE4EU was preceded by another EU funded project ending in 2012 that determined that TKS, which contains 4-6% rubber, yielded high quality natural rubber. Further positives are that it can be grown in other temperate regions as an annual crop and harvested mechanically.

Today, natural rubber is used in more than 40,000 products essential to the construction, medical and transportation industries. Natural rubber is particularly critical to the health of the EU automotive industry, especially tire manufacturing. With rubber consumption forecasted to increase significantly, market prices are also expected to rise. At present, demand is being met by increasing the acreage of rubber tree plantations, which is fraught with its own inherent sustainability issues, including deforestation and labor issues. The situation is made more precarious due to changing weather patterns and the threat of disease which could virtually wipe out the Asian rubber industry. And, synthetic rubber is simply not an option for many products.

Another major advantage of TKS is that up to 40% of its root biomass (when dried) is inulin, naturally occurring polysaccharides composed mainly of fructose units. Because it has unusually adaptable characteristics, inulin is increasingly being used in processed foods – particularly to replace sugar, fat and flour. Inulin also has many health benefits. In terms of its use in industry, non-hydrolyzed inulin can be directly converted to ethanol, which may have great potential for converting crops high in inulin into ethanol for fuel. Hydrolyzed inulin, mainly fructose, can be used to make polyethylene furanoate (PEF) which is used in the beverage bottling industry and is more sustainable than PET. The leftover root material and leaves can also be used for composting. 

Picking up where the last EU project ended, DRIVE4EU kicked off work in 2014 and has until August 2018 to deliver and report on the following:

• Breeding of plant genotypes with high root biomass, high rubber and inulin yield
• Amplification of seed batches for agronomic tests and large scale demo field trials
• Optimized cultivation and harvest methods for TKS
• Ecological analysis of the gene flow between TKS and other, wild dandelion species
• Scaled-up and optimized extraction and refinery protocol for TKS natural rubber and inulin
• Testing and application of TKS natural rubber and inulin in end product uses
• Demonstration of the economic viability of the TKS production chain for natural rubber and inulin

GEA’s role, along with support from the DRIVE4EU partners, was to design a biorefinery process in which both rubber and inulin could be extracted on a pilot scale and to deliver large scale samples of dry rubber and inulin for product testing and analysis. The dandelions were grown at multiple locations, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan for testing and comparison, and after harvesting sent to GEA for extraction. As a first step, GEA developed plants and lines for processing the roots, using an adapted GEA decanter to separate the rubber, water and sugar-containing solids. Inulin extraction and purification were optimized using hot water cooking and centrifuging. In a second processing step, rubber extraction was optimized using high speed milling, with a special focus on extraction times, processing conditions and on dry rubber purification. Lastly, GEA was asked to look at processing options for waste streams from both rubber and inulin.