“Going Green,” “sustainability,”
“alternative fuels,” and “alternative energy sources” - these are terms and
phrases we have all been hearing a lot lately; but how do they apply to the
tire industry?
How can the term “green tires”
even be relevant?
“Going Green” typically means that
a manufacturer is committed to:
1. Environmentally friendly
designs.
2. Improving manufacturing
operations to reduce their eco/carbon footprint.
3. Producing eco-friendly
products.
Several tire manufacturers are, in
fact, moving in this direction. Yokohama, for instance, has its new
“Environmentally Conscious Designs” initiative which seeks to help combat
global warming through increased resource recycling, reducing energy
consumption in their manufacturing processes. Yokohama is also working on a new
“dream rubber” which will be able to be recycled repeatedly.
At the other end, Michelin is
manufacturing their “HydroEdge” line of tires which they claim is the longest
lasting and most fuel efficient tire in its category. Michelin’s EnergySaver
Construction is a unique combination of rubber compounds and tire architecture,
the result being a tire which is more fuel efficient.
But the technology that intrigues
me most is “Super Nano-Power Rubber (SNPR)” made from citrus oil (derived from
the skin of oranges) and nanotechnology for its new material inner liner
composed of a micro-compound of rubber and plastic. As a result, the rate of
non-petrochemical resources used in production was increased to 80%.
So, add these new terms to your
repertoire; I am quite certain
that we will all be hearing them more frequently over the next few years from a
wide variety of tire manufacturers: green tires, Super Nano-Power Rubber,
nanorubber powder, and dream rubber, just to name a few. Who knows, maybe the
next generation of sustainable green tires will be made of something known as
“flubber!”