Birla Carbon has appointed Dr Ann Schoeb as chief research and development officer. Dr Schoeb will have full responsibility for research and development work at Birla Carbon and will join the company’s senior management team. She reports to John Loudermilk, chief operating officer.
Eni’s chemical company Versalis and Bridgestone EMIA are jointly developing raw materials for high performance tyres following an agreement between the firms to collaborate. Versalis, a leader in the production and marketing of elastomers, had previously formed a strategic partnership in North America. Developing this relationship in the EMIA region, the two companies will research, production and supply of synthetic rubber with advanced properties.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has appointed Koji Watanabe to the position of Associate Officer, Deputy Head of Tire Development Div., Head of Tire Designing Dept. No.3. Previously he was Associate Officer, Deputy Head of Tire Development Div., Head of TBR Tire Design Dept.
In addition to the flurry of research relating to tyre pyrolysis published at the end of 2020 and the start of this year, in February it emerged that another related study has been released. In his master’s thesis for Tampere University, Mikko Sirén explored the best technologies for turning scrap tyres into secondary raw material and value-added products. The research project started in May 2020 as an initiative of Black Donuts, the turn-key tyre industry consultants, who desired up-to-date research of the recycling of discarded tyres as part of their circular economy initiatives.
This year the well-known Finland-based tyre testing centre Test World turns 30. What better way to celebrate than to redouble its efforts to become a comprehensive test centre for summer, winter and all-season tyres? Following the acquisition of Test World’s parent company Millbrook by UTAC CERAM, which was completed at the start of February 2021, key developments towards this goal include: the purchase of the world’s first all-electric winter tyre traction testing light truck and the addition of a new soon-to-be opened proving ground in Morocco. Tyres & Accessories me up Jukka Antila, Technical Director at Test World as well as Millbrook business development manager Andrew Kern in order to find out more.
Smithers has moved its tyre, wheel, and product testing operation in Suzhou, China into a larger 7,200 square meter building in the Xiangcheng district. As a result, the size of the product testing lab has increased by 90 per cent, with plans to invest in more testing equipment to further expand testing capabilities. In addition to laboratory space, the new building includes classrooms and conference rooms for on-site training and industry meetings.
“Wastes to energy: Improving the poor properties of waste tire pyrolysis oil with waste cooking oil methyl ester and waste fusel alcohol – A detailed assessment on the combustion, emission, and performance characteristics of a CI engine”, published in the journal Energy on 22 January 2021; and “Thermodynamic comparison of pyrolysis and gasification of waste tyres”, which was published in the Journal of Environment Chemical Engineering on 30 January 2021 complete our recent review of the latest peer-reviewed pyrolysis research.
We have all witnessed the recent spike in interest in tyre pyrolysis-related recycling during the last year or so. The concepts themselves are not new, so what is behind renewed interest and confidence in such projects? As well as an uptick in investment in tyre pyrolysis plants, the last few months have also seen the publication of a flurry of peer-reviewed research papers into different aspects of waste tyre pyrolysis. As part of this year’s annual Tyre Recycling feature, we took a look at the three most recent papers in order to find out more.
Does the hyper-elasticity of retreaded tyres impact their behavioural quality? Uday Gudsoorkar and Rupa Bindu, two researchers working within the department of mechanical engineering at the Dr DY Patil Institute of Technology in Pune, India sought to answer this question and more by using computer-aided finite element analysis. Their paper “Computer simulation of hyper elastic re-treaded tire rubber with ABAQUS”, which was published in November 2020 in Materials Today: Proceedings used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to measures forces across the tread belt in a compute simulation. These virtual samples were then compared with laboratory examples. According to the paper, the researchers’ findings are “promising to predict the behaviour of re-treaded tyre rubber” and can be “used to improve the product [retreaded truck tyres] and its utility in small tyre re-treaders, customers and policymakers.”
Three Japanese firms are jointly conducting pilot testing that involves joining data gained from an internet-capable tyre with a road surface sensing system to map data. The trio – tyre maker The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.; map and navigation technology specialist Zenrin Co., Ltd.; and technology company Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. – have now also begun studying ways to monetise this technology.
Test specialist Horiba Mira expects the new ‘rules of origin’ clause will drive a surge in demand for development and testing of EV battery packs.
It comes as last month Aston Martin boss and Nissan planning chief Dr Andy Palmer issued a warning to the UK government that the Brexit trade deal, alongside ambitious plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, presents a risk of “crippling tariffs” for the UK automotive industry unless the sector invests heavily in domestic battery production for electric vehicles.
Billed as “the first complete simulation platform that cuts time and costs in the development and testing phases of both tyres and vehicles”, MegaRide has launched the RIDEsuite tyre simulation platform road and motorsport applications. Boasting performance enhancements of up to 30 per cent, RIDEsuite is described as a modular and multi-physical platform consisting of four applications.
We’ve all heard of tyre-derived oil and rubberised tarmac, but what about tyre-utilising concrete? Australian researchers have developed a new technology to manufacture concrete made from recycled materials including tyres that is stronger and more durable than the traditional product.
The 40th annual Tire Society Conference on Tire Science and Technology will again be held virtually this year, from 30 August to 3 September 2021. This year’s theme is “The Virtual Tire” and many conference papers each year are chosen for publication in the critically reviewed Journal of Tire Science and Technology, published quarterly by The Tire Society.
As part of a range of structural changes taking effect on 1 April, Toyo Tires will draw upon its experiences making tyres for the demanding European market in order to benefit its development programme for other regions. The tyre maker is integrating its Europe/Module Development department, which currently operates under the Technology Development division within its R&D Headquarters, into the R&D Headquarters’ Replacement Tire Development department.
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