Rubber goes green
As drivers know, the noisier a tire, the more fuel it wastes just to overcome rolling resistance. Tires account for one-fifth of the fuel supplied to the car.
Saving fuel without sacrificing driving comfort
Evonik's researchers have developed a new silane, an additive for rubber compounds that reduces
rolling resistance by up to 40 percent compared with conventional tires. This reduces fuel
consumption, and therefore CO
2 emissions, without compromising driving comfort and mileage. And the “green” tire
doesn't skid, even on wet roads. Drivers get fuel savings of up to 8 percent, which, at current gas
prices, is a significant amount. For a car doing about 30,000 kilometers a year, the cost of a set
of the fuel-saving tires is recovered within one year—to say nothing of the benefit to the
environment.
Silanes from Evonik
Silanes are essential components in tire production. Tire compounds normally contain about 30
percent reinforcing filler, which imparts the desired properties—grip, abrasion resistance, and
tear resistance—to the rubber compounds. These properties are adjusted as required by the use of
carbon blacks and silica, an additional component. Evonik silanes such as Si 363® and Si 69® are
used to bind rubber and silica in the manufacture of tires.
The company's chemists, physicists, and engineers are working on optimizing carbon black and silica particles for continuous improvements to the green tire.
