Sustainable materials: Goodyear shows off 70% tyre

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has taken a further step towards its aim of achieving material sustainability by producing a tyre with 70 per cent sustainable material content. While this Goodyear Assurance tyre is a demonstration model and won’t be offered for sale just now, innovations contained within will certainly appear in future ranges.

“We set an ambitious goal in 2020 to create a tyre made 100 per cent from sustainable materials in ten years, and our scientists and engineers have made great progress toward that goal,” says Chris Helsel, senior vice-president, global operations and chief technology officer. “This is an exciting achievement that demonstrates our commitment to increasing the use of sustainable materials in our tyres.”

The 70 per cent sustainable-material tyre includes 13 featured ingredients across nine different tyre components, including those described below. Goodyear performance indicators show the component properties to deliver strong overall tyre performance.

• Carbon black is included in tyres for compound reinforcement and to help increase their life and has traditionally been made by burning various types of petroleum products. Goodyear’s new tyre features three different carbon blacks that are produced from methane, carbon dioxide, and plant-based oil. Initial life cycle assessments demonstrate either reduced carbon emissions compared with current methods of carbon black production or the use of bio-based or waste feedstock sources.

• The use of soybean oil is a Goodyear innovation that helps keep a tyre’s rubber compound pliable in changing temperatures. Soybean oil is a bio-based resource that reduces Goodyear’s use of petroleum-based products. While nearly 100 per cent of soy protein is used in food/animal feed applications, a significant surplus of oil is left over and available for use in industrial applications.

• Silica is an ingredient often used in tyres to help improve grip and reduce fuel consumption. Goodyear’s new tire contains a unique variety of silica produced from rice husk ash, a by-product of rice processing that is often discarded and put into landfills. A high-quality silica has been produced from this waste ash.

• Polyester is recycled from plastic bottles and other plastic waste by reverting the polyester into its base chemicals and reforming them into technical grade polyester feasible for tyre cords.