Latest / The Manufacturing Podcast with Fexingo: Factories, Supply Chains, and Industrial Business
How a German Factory Makes Rubber from Dandelions
Dandelions are more than a lawn nuisance. In northern Germany, a factory is using the sap of a specific Russian dandelion variety to produce natural rubber for tires and industrial products. Jointly run by Continental and the Fraunhofer Institute, the plant in Anklam processes thousands of tons of dandelion roots annually, yielding rubber with properties matching Hevea latex. We explore the extraction process, the economics of cultivating dandelions in temperate climates, and why this could reduce dependence on Southeast Asian rubber plantations and petroleum-based synthetics. A look at how a…
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