Rhodia offers rolling resistance lowering solutions

As well as manufacturers of electric vehicles and related equipment, suppliers of the kind of raw materials and chemical components that make low rolling resistance tyres possible were also in attendance at last month’s Challenge Bibendum. The most prominent suppliers in this category were Rhodia and Lanxess. But with many premium tyres and a growing number of lower cost products already utilising silica-based technology for example, how low can tyres continue to go in terms of rolling resistance?

Rhodia has been producing the Zeosil brand tyre compound ingredient for around 30 years ago, but recent technological developments mean it has more to offer the fuel efficiency of a tyre than ever before. “Manufacturers like Michelin do already use large quantities of silica, but there are opportunities to increase this,” Rhodia representatives told Tyres & Accessories

The kind of opportunities Rhodia refers mean both increasing the amount (and therefore the benefit) of the Zeosil/silica in the tyres and introduces the material into different parts of the tyre casing such as the bead and sidewall. Firstly, while some products already use around 90 per cent silica in their tread compounds, this certainly is not true across the board and even the most keen tyre manufacturers are said to be still operating in the 60 – 70 per cent range. And as circumferential flexion increases heat build up (and therefore rolling resistance) as well as the actual gripping surface, there are said to be further benefits available for those willing to adopt this silica approach when it comes to construction parts other than the tread. According to Rhodia, this strategy can be used in both passenger can truck tyre products, where the firm reports that it is also experiencing a fair degree of expansion.

What is clear is that the ever increasing global need for energy efficient solutions coupled with new European tyre labelling legislation, which is schedule to come into effect on 1 November 2012, is driving world-wide demand for Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS) which is estimated to grow by 10 per cent over the next five years. And will legislation comparable to the European labelling laws tabled for introduction in the US, Brazil and Japan, there is scope for further growth. Currently two thirds of the firm’s manufacturing output is destined for the tyre industry.

Conventional fillers versus highly dispersable silica

Rhodia’s solution comes in the form of its benchmark range of Zeosil-branded HDS. Utilized in tyre tread, Zeosil HDS reportedly reduces rolling resistance by 25 per cent thereby decreasing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 7 per cent. In addition, Zeosil HDS in tyres is said to enable manufacturers to achieve wet grip improvement, while guaranteeing optimum wear resistance and sport handling performance. Rhodia claims the title of inventor and leading global provider of Highly Dispersible Silica. The company manufactures Highly Dispersible Silica at eight production facilities spread across four continents – Europe, Asia North America and South America.

“Our Zeosil Premium range presents an unmatched performance on the market, pushes back those limits even further and provides a reduction by up to 30 per cent in rolling resistance whilst improving road-holding and tyre wear resistance,” said Christian Léger, silica global business director for Rhodia. “This demonstrates how Rhodia’s innovative, leading-edge technologies can improve both CO2 reduction and safety, thus inspiring the automotive industry to meet and overcome the challenges of sustainable mobility.”

Referring to the forthcoming labelling laws, Léger points out that only the most energy-efficient tyres will be awarded an “A” rating on the proposed “A to G” rolling resistance classification system. In addition to this, the label will provide the tyre’s all-important safety performance in wet conditions. In the future, Rhodia sources told T&A, tyres that base their compounds on carbon black alone simply won’t be able to meet the increasingly high standards required by European legislation.

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