Goodyear has reached a supply agreement with Yihai Food and Oil Industry in China for silica derived from rice husk ash. Goodyear will begin using the silica this year in a consumer tire 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 Center in Akron and found its impact on tire performance to be equal to traditional sources.
Said chairman 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 tires more fuel efficient.”
Each year, more than 700 million tons of rice are harvested worldwide, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization 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 a silica of a high enough grade to use in tires.
For more details see the November issue of Tire Technology International.
11 June, 2015
