Goodyear in China to use rice waste in tyre production

11th June 2015

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

The Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company has reached an agreement with Yihai Food and Oil Industry, in China, for the supply of silica derived from rice husk ash.

Goodyear will begin using the silica this year in a consumer tyre that will be manufactured in its factory in Pulandian, China, and sold in China.

Goodyear has tested silica derived from rice husk ash over the past two years at its innovation centre, in the US, and found its impact on tyre performance to be equal to traditional sources.

“Sustainability is a cornerstone of Goodyear’s innovation efforts,” says chairperson and CEO Richard J Kramer.

“This new silica benefits the environment in many ways: It reduces waste going into landfills; it requires less energy to produce; and it helps make tyres more fuel efficient.”

Each year, more than 700 million tons of rice are harvested worldwide, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, and disposing of the rice husks is an environmental challenge.

As a result, husks are often burned to generate electricity and reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfills. While this ash has been converted to silica for several years, only these most recent processes created silica of a high enough grade to use in tyres.

Most silica in the market today is derived from sand, however, the process to convert sand to silica consumes a lot of energy.

Silica is used as a reinforcing agent in tyre tread compounds. Compared to carbon black, a traditional reinforcing agent for tyres, silica reduces rolling resistance.

Lower rolling resistance, in turn, improves a car's fuel economy. It also can have a positive impact on a tyre’s traction on wet surfaces.

In addition to the agreement with Yihai, Goodyear is negotiating agreements with additional suppliers. Financial details of the agreements are not being released.

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION