Goodyear to release rice husk silica tyre in China this year
Global rice paddy production amounts to around 700 million tonnes each year, and some 20 per cent of this total paddy weight is made up of rice husk, which is separated in the rice milling process and has traditionally been discarded by burning (including to generate electricity) or by dumping in landfill. But in recent times new uses have been found for this former waste. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, for example, has tested silica derived from rice husk ash over the past two years. The tyre maker has now reached a supply agreement with China’s Yihai Food and Oil Industry for silica derived from rice husk ash, and will begin manufacturing a tyre containing this silica at its Pulandian factory in China this year. The tyre will be sold in the Chinese domestic market.
