Ford To Use Dandelions As Substitute to Rubber?

Image from Wikipedia

Dandelions are typically known throughout the World (USA, UK, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Spain) as a weed, a pest and a lawn nemesis! However, recently in the state of Ohio in USA, research is being implemented to find out if the Taraxacum Kok-Saghyz Dandelion commonly known as the dandelion (a Russian strain of dandelion) could replace rubber used in most cars. The study is taking place at Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center (OARDC).

Ford have sprung into action again with a chance to make their cars of the future even more eco-friendly than ever before. With pineapples and banana's set to replace plastics in the future for the automotive company, it is no surprise that they are outsourcing for other materials to use as well, in this case, the Russian dandelion is the new contender. 

"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, a Ford researcher. “Dandelions have the potential to serve as a great natural alternative to synthetic rubber in our products.”

Image from Google.com

The dandelion contains a milky-white sap-like substance within its stems and leaves which can and has been used as a replacement for rubber (it temporarily replaced rubber in WW2 when oil was limited) but further testing is needed to see whether it would be suitable to replace rubber components on cars. 

Rubber was traditionally made from rubber tree plants but it is now made from oil, so this new venture into replacing non-sustainable resources for more sustainable ones could really impact positively on Ford's carbon footprint, thus helping our environment in the process. Good on you Ford!

 Ford researchers will assess the initial quality of the material to evaluate how it will perform in a variety of plastics that are used in vehicles to ensure it meets their very high durability and quality standards before any decisions are confirmed.