Student’s Discovery Removes Zinc Oxide from Tyre Manufacturing

Research conducted by a South African PhD student could prove a boon to the global tyre industry. While working on his chemistry doctorate, Robert Bosch, 32, from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth discovered a means by which Zinc Oxide can be replaced as a catalyst in tyre manufacturing, a much sought after substitution.

The global tyre manufacturing industry uses 600,000 tonnes of highly toxic Zinc Oxide each year. The substance is poisonous to aquatic organisms and accumulates in the environment. The newly discovered chemical compound catalyst, Rubber Nano Products Liquid Activation (RNPX), is said to be environmentally friendly and only one third of the volume of Zinc Oxide is necessary to do the same job.

“We knew we were on to something after the first year of research in 2005, having done some trials with local companies,” said Bosch. “We realised RNPX was better and more cost-effective and there was no way this product was not going to be accepted by companies.”

Road testing of tyres produced with the new chemical compound is already underway in Europe. Bosch, now technical director of the company Rubber Nano Products, expects it to take about two years before tyres are commercially produced using the student’s chemical compound. Talks with a global manufacturer regarding commercial distribution are already progressing.