A surprising discovery likewise enhances dandelion latex extraction.The worlds natural supply is at danger, making crucial advancements essential.Amid the challenges of disease and high demand impacting the primary natural rubber supply in Southeast Asia, researchers are working to ramp up the U.S. rubber market by advancing approaches to extract latex from two sustainable North American plant sources: a dandelion types and a desert shrub.Researchers reported their methods to enhance performance and boost latex yield in two current publications, building upon decades of research study led by Katrina Cornish, teacher of cultivation and crop science and food, biological and farming engineering at The Ohio State University.Cornish and colleagues have actually added specific representatives during the processing of the Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TK) dandelion and the guayule shrub to coax a higher amount of latex from both plants. A series of cleaning and spinning cycles follows to separate the latex from other strong material– and with each centrifugation action, some latex is lost.The research study group discovered that adding chemical compounds called flocculants to the milkshake assisted bind other strong materials together and separate them from the latex, effectively cutting the washing cycles in half and enhancing the general latex yield. She has actually been planting, gathering, and extracting latex from TK dandelion for over a decade in Ohio and has a greenhouse full of guayule on Ohio States Wooster campus, where she hopes to one day develop a full-blown latex processing plant.
A surprising discovery likewise improves dandelion latex extraction.The worlds natural supply is at risk, making vital advancements essential.Amid the difficulties of disease and high need impacting the primary natural rubber supply in Southeast Asia, researchers are working to ramp up the U.S. rubber market by advancing approaches to draw out latex from two sustainable North American plant sources: a dandelion species and a desert shrub.Researchers reported their approaches to improve performance and increase latex yield in two recent publications, developing upon years of research led by Katrina Cornish, teacher of cultivation and crop science and food, biological and agricultural engineering at The Ohio State University.Cornish and associates have added customized representatives throughout the processing of the Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TK) dandelion and the guayule shrub to coax a greater amount of latex from both plants. A series of cleaning and spinning cycles follows to separate the latex from other solid material– and with each centrifugation action, some latex is lost.The research team found that adding chemical compounds called flocculants to the milkshake helped bind other solid products together and separate them from the latex, effectively cutting the washing cycles in half and enhancing the general latex yield. An analysis revealed that heavy divalent cations, like magnesium, bound to the latex particle membranes weighed down the particles– up until the connection eventually collapsed.The group found that adding EDTA, a chelator that binds to divalent cations, to processing the dandelion roots allowed for the extraction of more than twice as much latex than was extracted without the addition of EDTA.”Future Prospects and CollaborationsThe usage of EDTA also increased the gel material of the extracted latex once it was dried– beneficial details for potential production by industries that are looking for higher-gel rubber, he said.EDTA may turn out to be appropriate to latex extraction from guayule, though Cornish said her laboratory hopes to partner with flocculant chemists who might assist even more fine-tune that procedure. She has actually been planting, harvesting, and extracting latex from TK dandelion for over a decade in Ohio and has a greenhouse full of guayule on Ohio States Wooster campus, where she hopes to one day develop a major latex processing plant.
