Spirethoughts
Spire's six most recent Spirethoughts.
Will compost turn out to be the magic mineral for African agriculture?
Will emerging countries dominate the pool of global megacities in futu...
Will the tech sector create new employment opportunities for persons w...
Will 3D printing enable the construction of permanent facilities on th...
Will Africa become the latest global aviation hot-spot?
Will air taxis become the latest urban transport innovation?
Dandelion tires for you?
Global demand for natural rubber is expected to exceed supply by 20 percent by 2020. However, Keygene, a biotechnology firm based in Holland, believes that the latex in dandelion roots can be developed into tires.
Tire manufacturer Apollo Vredestein also sees dandelions as a potential substitute for natural rubber tires. Its collaboration with Keygene has successfully produced prototypes of dandelion rubber tires. Commercial production is targeted within the next five to ten years, and plans are underway to develop a variety of dandelions with higher yield that would better suit industrial processing.
However, experts beg to differ. Most dandelion growers in Europe prefer genetically improved crops rather than genetically modified crops, as the process of natural evolution is merely being optimized to its full speed capacity to give larger plants. Besides, genetic modification is still not accepted widely in Europe.
Would dandelions tires replace natural rubber tires in the future?