At the International Motor Show Commercial Vehicles, Continental showcased the Conti EcoPlus HD3,truck tires made from natural rubber derived from dandelion roots. As an agricultural crop, dandelions have the potential to become an alternative, environmentally friendly raw material source, helping to reduce dependency on traditionally produced natural rubber.
Also on display was the prototype for an engine mount that links the powertrain with the chassis. This insulates the structure-borne noise from the engine, thereby enhancing ride quality and driver safety. Another sampled product will be the first example of an intermediate propeller shaft bearing made from the new dandelion rubber material, named Taraxagum. This stabilizes and minimizes the transmission of vibrations to the chassis.
In 2014, Continental launched the first premium winter tire featuring a tread made from pure dandelion rubber. In the same year, plans began for the production of the first commercial vehicle tire which needs significantly more natural rubber (20 to 25 kg) than a passenger tire (1 kg to 3 kg). At the end of 2015, ContiTech tested the new raw material for anti-vibration technology, as well.
"The properties that we demand of natural rubber are different from those that our [passenger] tire colleagues expect," explains Dr. Anna Misiun, who leads the activities involving dandelion rubber at ContiTech. "For example, our products have to withstand extremely high dynamic loads at high temperatures."
The tests on the truck tires and vibration elements made from Taraxagum are extremely promising, demonstrating that the alternative to traditionally sourced natural rubber is suited for the commercial vehicle sector and fulfills the strictest requirements in the challenging field of freight haulage. Taraxagum should enter production within the next five to 10 years and then flow step-by-step into more of Continental's rubber products.
The industrialization of the dandelion rubber Taraxagum is a joint research project of Continental with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, the Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants, Julius Kuehn-Institute, and the plant breeder ESKUSA.
