Weed Today, Polymer Tomorrow

Akron-area entrepreneurs return to roots in rubber, work to extract latex from dandelion

By Paula Schleis
Akron Beacon Journal November 24, 2006

Leave it to Akron to learn how to extract rubber from a dandelion.

The city that once billed itself as the Rubber Capital of the World is involved in an effort to pull latex from the weed.

Delta Plant Technologies, a group of Akron-area entrepreneurs, is collaborating with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster on the two-year-old project.
Researchers are currently focused on how to get the most latex out of a dandelion variety that's native to Russia, said Bill Ravlin, associate director at the OARDC, the agricultural research arm of Ohio State University.

But it also does well in Northeast Ohio's climate, he said, and the latex it produces "is absolutely competitive with rubber coming from overseas.''

Currently, the world's only commercial source of natural rubber comes from tropical trees grown in Southeast Asia, a volatile area on which the United States would like to be less dependent.

A $14 billion market, natural rubber accounts for about 20 percent of the materials used in tires, and some experts are forecasting a natural rubber shortage by the end of the decade.

Ravlin said early commercialization of dandelion latex could begin in three to five years, with full production possible in 10 to 15 years.

Its impact on Ohio would be undeniable.

When the United States lost access to most natural rubber sources during World War II, it inspired the production of synthetic alternatives. But natural rubber is still preferred for products that need elasticity and resiliency—like tires.

There have been other attempts to extract rubber from North American plants, most notably Firestone's 1980s work with the desert guayule shrub. But the challenge of processing shrubs and weeds is getting enough material to be commercially useful.

If Delta and OARDC are successful, not only would Northeast Ohio's tire industry benefit, there would be new business opportunities for people who grow the crop, extract the rubber, and deliver it to manufacturers.

Delta is a portfolio company of JumpStart; the OARDC is part of the NorTech Tech Leader's Group. JumpStart and NorTech are among regional nonprofit groups assisting those working on reinventing Northeast Ohio's economy.

Paula Schleis can be reached at
pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.