DiIY Latex rubber from the humble dandelion. This is the same rubber that comes from the rubber tree, Just produces a lot less, you can also use Milkweed, among other plants.
this is awesome! super helpful, because i seem to only be able to find car tire interviews on the internet, and not how to actually make the rubber. i've been looking for a little while and this is all i've found. so thanks so much this is research to help me writing my book...the weirdest things that you research...😳
A synthetic booger! :D I didn't realize you could get latex from a dandelion. Now I know and I'll have to try this out when they are in season. The latex I have at home for mould making is ammonia stabilized so that's something I'll look into to see where ammonia fits into the process. I'm guessing that once the ammonia has evaporated, the pH decreases allowing the latex to rubberize.
Matthew Wilson The ammonia keeps it from drying too fast The ratio I would choose is 1 cup of latex and 2 tbsp of ammonia Pour it into a gallon jug And repeat until jug is full
Do you think the sap from wild lettuce would work? It grows commonly in my area, exudes a lot of sap compared to dandelions (at least they seem to), and Google says the sap contains latex.
Thank you for putting this out. My question is, can you not "simply" mash the whole dandelion, submerge it in water (and maybe even boil) which is a solvent for latex, then strain the matter out, then boil off the excess water to get a higher yield of latex?
Not quite that simple. Water tends to dissolve a lot of things, too many things. So a different solvent is required. That is one thing I was/am working on for the next video about this subject, finding an easy to access solvent (or series of solvents) that is selective for latex.
In the description you said we could use milkweed Considering that they can grow to be 2-6 feet that’s what I’ll probably do Once I’ve collected enough I’ll be able to do a very simple recipe . 2 cups bottles water (tap might contain impurities it won’t effect your drinks but it will effect the latex) . 1 cup of the latex rubber (because I’ll be using bigger plants) . 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) ammonia . 1 tbsp zinc oxide powder Funnel into a gallon jug and repeat process until jug is full With that I’ll have the same liquid latex used to make a mask
Let me know how it goes! I'll admit, I haven't tried bigger quantities, nor am I sure how well it'll work for something like that without any additives/stabilisers. 😀
Just so you know, the latex from milkweed is mildly poisonous. Not very, and the processing might break down the poison into something benign, but it's there
Hey! looks like I'll be doing a video about starch plastics first while I wait for some more of my algae cultures to grow :) But thanks for watching & staying up to date!
Yes (in theory) that's what the Russians are working on (helped by the fact that russian dandelions already have a high yield). but even with a high yielding dandelion, the latex output pales in comparison to what the rubber tree produces. so it's not a great business model if that's your plan :)
The Germans are also working on this. They've already started producing tyres made from Russian Dandelion rubber which perform exactly the same as tires made from rubber trees. It's likely that we'll see more rubber production from Dandelions as industries develop to take advantage of this new source. Also worth noting is that the Germans crush the entire root stock to get to the latex, rather than bleeding the roots, as was done here and as is done to the rubber trees.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 I'm sure "Climate Change" will have something to do with them (you know) changing that.......... Eg; Borneo deforestation due to latex production. It's not necessarily a terrible thing to hold back on clearing forest for new plantations and change mono-cropping to more diverse plantings - but it's fairly likely they would also raise prices/add "Climate Change" compliance rules, etc...until dandelions are #1. At that stage and with all the other drama on top, most people probably couldn't afford rubber - which may be the point... Just a inkling. It sounds pretty outlandish, but you never know! Or things could become alot worse, alot faster, with other catalysts. "Earth events" disrupting shipping, etc. So, it's probably better to know how to make this yourself, than to bet on buying dandelion rubber from a company.
Great video! Do you think it could be commercially viable to farm this, as an alternative to rubber plantations and all the habitat destruction that goes with it? If you mixed in Sulphuric Acid instead of vinegar, would that also vulcanise it?
There is a place in Russia trying to make it commercially viable, but due to how cheap latex is, and the small amount dandelions give, it doesn't seem to be very financially viable at the moment. as for ways to vulcanize it, I'm not sure.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) contains Sulphur. It's said that it was the plant which was used by mesoamerican civilisations to vulcanise latex. I saw a video somewhere on here of the process done in recent times. They basically just heated latex with moonflower juice in a big pot.
I believe I read vulcanization takes place at 150C. I'm unsure of the reaction taking place during acid coagulation. Maybe there's some form of sulfur as a byproduct that could readily vulcanize it at ambient temperature. Regardless it may be a good option to kill two birds with one stone if one can use it for coagulating first then vulcanizing even if at high temperature.
Is that a Russian Dandelion? as I’ve read somewhere that they produce high amounts of Latex. I’ve pulled up Dandelions from my mates garden in UK that have really thick and really long tap roots. I’ll have to see if they contain much, as he’s got a whole garden full.
Nope, just a 'normal' north american verity I had growing in my yard. I did order some russian dandelion seeds, but dandelions are suprisingly hard to grow when you actually want them to grow.. (I couldn't even get them to germanate) And absolutely give it a shot!
What if you crushed up the root and soaked it in viniger. Would you be able to separate it faster that way? Also how could you form it into something useful?
Unfortunately crushing dilutes it to much in its sap/water. One thing I'm trying to figure out is how to separate it from that method (Im thinking vacuum distillation...) As for making it useful, it really needs some stabilisers or something since this method makes the latex quite crumbly.
Extracting rubber from dandelions? Not that I'm aware, it doesn't release any CO2, and it can easily be grown as a 'circle crop' (all the plants that are used are re-grown, rather than having to expand outwards like many logging operations. Biggest downside is yield.
Over five years and we are still waiting for that reshoot with the dandelions in season and better results.
this is awesome! super helpful, because i seem to only be able to find car tire interviews on the internet, and not how to actually make the rubber. i've been looking for a little while and this is all i've found. so thanks so much
this is research to help me writing my book...the weirdest things that you research...😳
A synthetic booger! :D
I didn't realize you could get latex from a dandelion. Now I know and I'll have to try this out when they are in season. The latex I have at home for mould making is ammonia stabilized so that's something I'll look into to see where ammonia fits into the process. I'm guessing that once the ammonia has evaporated, the pH decreases allowing the latex to rubberize.
That would be really interesting to see! because I honestly Have no Idea.
Matthew Wilson
The ammonia keeps it from drying too fast
The ratio I would choose is 1 cup of latex and 2 tbsp of ammonia
Pour it into a gallon jug
And repeat until jug is full
Great. I'm going to make Halloween masks with that.
I normally ignore self promotion in comments but you were so humble about it that I came to check it out :)
Do you think the sap from wild lettuce would work? It grows commonly in my area, exudes a lot of sap compared to dandelions (at least they seem to), and Google says the sap contains latex.
Thank you for putting this out. My question is, can you not "simply" mash the whole dandelion, submerge it in water (and maybe even boil) which is a solvent for latex, then strain the matter out, then boil off the excess water to get a higher yield of latex?
Not quite that simple. Water tends to dissolve a lot of things, too many things. So a different solvent is required.
That is one thing I was/am working on for the next video about this subject, finding an easy to access solvent (or series of solvents) that is selective for latex.
In the description you said we could use milkweed
Considering that they can grow to be 2-6 feet that’s what I’ll probably do
Once I’ve collected enough I’ll be able to do a very simple recipe
. 2 cups bottles water (tap might contain impurities it won’t effect your drinks but it will effect the latex)
. 1 cup of the latex rubber (because I’ll be using bigger plants)
. 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) ammonia
. 1 tbsp zinc oxide powder
Funnel into a gallon jug and repeat process until jug is full
With that I’ll have the same liquid latex used to make a mask
Let me know how it goes! I'll admit, I haven't tried bigger quantities, nor am I sure how well it'll work for something like that without any additives/stabilisers. 😀
EvilPlagueDoctor
That’s what the ammonia and zinc oxide are for that’s what the factories add (or if they want solid rubber they just add formic acid)
Just so you know, the latex from milkweed is mildly poisonous. Not very, and the processing might break down the poison into something benign, but it's there
Still waitin'
Cool vid. Hello from reddit! Can't wait to see your algae video.
Hey! looks like I'll be doing a video about starch plastics first while I wait for some more of my algae cultures to grow :)
But thanks for watching & staying up to date!
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 can you make synthetic rubber from starch too?
is it possible to bring in some Dandelions and plant them indoors and then use Artificial Selection to increase the latex in the Dandelions?
Yes (in theory) that's what the Russians are working on (helped by the fact that russian dandelions already have a high yield). but even with a high yielding dandelion, the latex output pales in comparison to what the rubber tree produces. so it's not a great business model if that's your plan :)
Awesome! I'm glad to hear that.
The Germans are also working on this. They've already started producing tyres made from Russian Dandelion rubber which perform exactly the same as tires made from rubber trees.
It's likely that we'll see more rubber production from Dandelions as industries develop to take advantage of this new source. Also worth noting is that the Germans crush the entire root stock to get to the latex, rather than bleeding the roots, as was done here and as is done to the rubber trees.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 I'm sure "Climate Change" will have something to do with them (you know) changing that.......... Eg; Borneo deforestation due to latex production.
It's not necessarily a terrible thing to hold back on clearing forest for new plantations and change mono-cropping to more diverse plantings - but it's fairly likely they would also raise prices/add "Climate Change" compliance rules, etc...until dandelions are #1.
At that stage and with all the other drama on top, most people probably couldn't afford rubber - which may be the point...
Just a inkling. It sounds pretty outlandish, but you never know!
Or things could become alot worse, alot faster, with other catalysts. "Earth events" disrupting shipping, etc.
So, it's probably better to know how to make this yourself, than to bet on buying dandelion rubber from a company.
Great video! Do you think it could be commercially viable to farm this, as an alternative to rubber plantations and all the habitat destruction that goes with it? If you mixed in Sulphuric Acid instead of vinegar, would that also vulcanise it?
There is a place in Russia trying to make it commercially viable, but due to how cheap latex is, and the small amount dandelions give, it doesn't seem to be very financially viable at the moment.
as for ways to vulcanize it, I'm not sure.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) contains Sulphur. It's said that it was the plant which was used by mesoamerican civilisations to vulcanise latex.
I saw a video somewhere on here of the process done in recent times. They basically just heated latex with moonflower juice in a big pot.
I believe I read vulcanization takes place at 150C. I'm unsure of the reaction taking place during acid coagulation. Maybe there's some form of sulfur as a byproduct that could readily vulcanize it at ambient temperature. Regardless it may be a good option to kill two birds with one stone if one can use it for coagulating first then vulcanizing even if at high temperature.
Is that a Russian Dandelion? as I’ve read somewhere that they produce high amounts of Latex. I’ve pulled up Dandelions from my mates garden in UK that have really thick and really long tap roots. I’ll have to see if they contain much, as he’s got a whole garden full.
Nope, just a 'normal' north american verity I had growing in my yard.
I did order some russian dandelion seeds, but dandelions are suprisingly hard to grow when you actually want them to grow.. (I couldn't even get them to germanate)
And absolutely give it a shot!
What is it good for? I drink the tea to help diabetics . But the latex good for
What's the Ph of the latex?
What if you crushed up the root and soaked it in viniger. Would you be able to separate it faster that way? Also how could you form it into something useful?
Unfortunately crushing dilutes it to much in its sap/water. One thing I'm trying to figure out is how to separate it from that method (Im thinking vacuum distillation...)
As for making it useful, it really needs some stabilisers or something since this method makes the latex quite crumbly.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 well I saw a video of a company that built a tire out of dandelion rubber so I should be able to make my own condoms
@@Doctoranthetardis I'd love to see your partner's face as you put one on
@@Doctoranthetardisclown
is this harming the plant in any way?
Extracting rubber from dandelions? Not that I'm aware, it doesn't release any CO2, and it can easily be grown as a 'circle crop' (all the plants that are used are re-grown, rather than having to expand outwards like many logging operations.
Biggest downside is yield.
@@evilplaguedoctor5158 ok
Has dandelion latex been used to make condoms as of yet?
Not yet in condom, but Continental Tires has been attempting to use it in tires.