Automotive tires are partially made from oil, a fact that some people may not realize. One day, the fossil fuel oil may be replaced with one from a more desirable source: soybeans.
Goodyear is currently testing tires partially made from the oil of soybeans and is finding that the new tires seem to have a longer tread life than their conventional petroleum counterpart. If the company’s research holds up in the real world, tires made with soybean oil should last 10 percent longer than today’s tires, reducing the amount of oil we would need to dredge up for the some 1 billion tires manufactured each year. Goodyear believes that the new tires could reduce oil consumption by 7 million gallons per year, and are hoping for a sellable version to be ready by 2015.
The company has also found that because the soybean oil is easier to blend into the tires, its factories require less energy to operate. This would improve plant energy efficiency while reducing the amount of oil needed for production.
“Goodyear is committed to caring for the environment and communities, and use of soybean oil is proving to be another way to accomplish this goal,” said Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear’s chief technical officer. “Consumers benefit through improved tread life, Goodyear gains with increased efficiency and energy savings and we all win whenever there is a positive impact on the environment.”
And as what may not come as a surprise, Goodyear’s research is being funded with $500,000 from the United Soybean Board. But if the soybeans can be grown and harvested sustainably, I am all for the development of soybean-oil-based automotive tires. Almost anything that gets off of fossil fuels is forward progress in my book.
[via Innovation News Daily]
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