Production
Lion-Flex is focussing on continuously breeding dandelion varieties for the production of natural rubber. Lion-Flex is involved in the production of basic seed, the arable production of dandelion roots, and optimising the method to extract natural rubber from dandelion roots.
Various aspects play an important part in the production process:
Time of sowing
The time of sowing significantly affects the growth of dandelions. The plant cannot survive the first month if the weather is too dry or too wet, so sowing has to take into account this risk of drought or excessive rainfall..
Sowing density
The aim is to achieve a sowing density which maximises rubber yields, so that production of natural rubber from dandelions can compete with that of natural rubber from rubber trees.
The right type of soil
The type of soil is crucial to good dandelion harvests. It must not cause the dandelion roots to break during harvesting, or stick to the roots. In other words, not all types of soil are suitable for cultivating dandelions.
Sustainable crop protection
Ultimately, we are aiming for sustainable cultivation that does not pollute the soil, spares the environment, and does not harm plants or the surroundings.
A single production chain
The challenge is to develop a production technology to extract pure natural rubber/latex from the roots. So far, there is no cultivation and bio-refinery concept anywhere in the world. Lion-Flex is working on optimising and monetising a complete production chain for natural rubber from dandelions.
Pictures production
