CREVE COEUR, Mo.—Kultevat Inc., a company devoted to the commercial development of high-quality rubber and co-products from the Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz, or TKS), has received its first process patent.
U.S. Patent No. 9,346,924 B2, issued May 24, covers dandelion, composition and products, according to the document.
The patent covers a process involving the simultaneous extraction of rubber and inulin—a naturally occurring carbohydrate with various industrial, medical and food uses—from the dandelion root.
“No alternative rubber crop has thus far had an integrated system for maximizing the value of all crop co-products,” said the background section of the patent document.
“The process employs a dandelion species that is selected from the group consisting of Taraxacum officiale, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a rubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum, and a combination of two or more thereof,” the patent abstract said.
“Farmers, investors and end-users like tire companies are looking to minimize risk and increase certainty as we move toward TKS commercialization,” said Kultevat President and CEO Daniel Swiger in a press release.
According to its website, Creve Coeur-based Kultevat said its crop system serves agricultural markets in a number of ways, primarily through the production of rubber and mixed sugar feedstocks for biofuels.