A New Value Chain for Rubber and Inulin Production in the European BioEconomy

Samenvatting

DRIVE4EU - ‘Dandelion Rubber and Inulin Valorization and Exploitation for Europe’, a European demonstration project sets up a European chain for the production and processing of natural rubber and inulin from Taraxacum koksaghyz (TKS, Rubber dandelion) to become less dependent on the import of natural rubber. Natural rubber is a sustainable material that is used for more than 40,000 products, e.g. natural rubber is applied in construction (adhesives, sealants), medicine (gloves, tubing) and transportation (matting, tyres) industries. Because of the specific quality aspects of natural rubber in many products it cannot be replaced by synthetic rubber. At the moment natural rubber is exclusively harvested from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) of which about 90% is grown in South East Asia.