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.