The dandelion is there a new future of rubber?
Posted by adminFor some researchers, Taraxacum kok-saghyz became an obsession. This plant, known as the Russian dandelion, is indeed the most serious alternative to Hevea brasiliensis, rubber tree, threatened by the spread of a fungus that has infected many plantations in South America and Asia. German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Aachen are currently working to manufacture a Russian dandelion GM can produce between 150 and 400 kilograms of latex per hectare per growing season.
The figure seems low, but for researchers, it rhymes with scientific prowess. The EMI is able to identify and disable the enzyme responsible for the rapid coagulation of rubber from dandelion, a property which hitherto banned a large-scale production.Ironically, it was in Germany that the most thorough research on the subject had been made and then stopped, for lack of solution to the problem. At that time, the Germans imported Russian roots and planted in the concentration camps of Auschwitz, where inmates entertained. The issue was already an alternative to rubber for the Army Material.
Nearly 70 years later, the genetically modified plants obtained are capable of making four to five times more rubber with classic Russian dandelions. "The advantage is that the dandelion is grown on large areas. This is an annual plant, which can pick up all year, "says Serge Palu specialist researcher at CIRAD. From there to consider industrial-scale production? "For this, we are still waiting for 2020," cautions the researcher."We must still find the variety that does not clot and produces significantly. More importantly, we must find the extraction process economically profitable.
Allocation of 8,000,000 euros
On this last point that research stumble. As for the guayule, a plant that grows wild in the deserts of northern Mexico, the latex does not flow by incising the bark, but is trapped in the plant cells. A mechanical milling significantly reduced yields. In the 40s, Russian and American researchers had encountered the same problem. With financial support from such giant tires Bridgestone / Firestone, the Emergency Rubber Project USA – a program involving over 1000 scientists, launched by the authorities – was able to provide 2500-3000 tons of guayule rubber by year.But oil and synthetic rubber boom will end these research efforts alternatives.
Today, Brussels is all for bring up to date. A European program called EU Pearls was launched in 2008. With a budget of 8 million euros over four years, it aims to support the research efforts of 11 partners from Holland, Spain, Germany, France, Czech Republic, and the Switzerland.
Halfway through, preliminary results are encouraging. In addition to discovering the dandelion, the researchers came after 21 months of work to get guayule with yields of 900 kg per hectare per annum. It is certainly less than 1500 kg of rubber plantations, but scientists are optimistic.
Emergency
For the EU, it is urgent. The rubber, the basis for more than 40,000 products of everyday life, is under pressure.Since 1 January, prices jumped 160% in Tokyo, the market, from 186 yen per kg (1.65 euro) in July 2009 to 417.10 yen in July 2010 (3.72 euros). Even upward movement on the Singapore market where prices rose 76.89% from $ 1.98 to 3.18 dollars a year.
"Do not forget that there is a public health issue very important that can be expensive to run," adds Serge Palu. Since the onset of AIDS in the 80s, the booming market of the glove and latex condoms has been accompanied by an increase in allergic reactions to this material. "The major advantage of guayule latex from rubber trees is its lower protein content, ten times less for guayule," enthuses CIRAD.In a note published last November, the center's researchers called for "seize on the ball of guayule rubber or Taraxacum kok saghyz as an additional opportunity to release humanity from its dependence on oil" and "compensate for the increase of allergy in the medical field.
An international seminar will bring together researchers on the subject, 14 and Oct. 15, on the site of Agropolis Montpellier.
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