{"id":766,"date":"2021-06-08T18:47:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T18:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/?p=766"},"modified":"2021-06-08T18:47:06","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T18:47:06","slug":"reinventing-the-tyre-using-new-materials-to-prevent-pollution-amelia-doran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/2021\/06\/08\/reinventing-the-tyre-using-new-materials-to-prevent-pollution-amelia-doran\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinventing the Tyre: using new materials to prevent pollution – Amelia Doran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyres are generating tiny microplastics which can be blown to remote, ice-covered areas across\u00a0the globe and enter the ocean. These particles are increasing the melting speed of these areas\u00a0of the ice, contributing to rising sea levels and ocean pollution. CarbonX, based in the Netherlands,\u00a0thinks the solution lies in using their novel carbon material to improve tyre wear and particle\u00a0emission without sacrificing performance.<\/p>\n

The macro microplastic problem<\/em><\/h2>\n

Microplastics are a major polluter: almost invisible plastic particles shed in a range of\u00a0processes, which are wreaking havoc on the environment. While some sources are well known,\u00a0like exfoliating beads or clothing production and laundering, other major contributors are less\u00a0well-known, like the tyre.<\/p>\n

Over its lifetime, the average tyre will lose around 4 kg of microplastics, leading to a global\u00a0annual total of 6.1 million tonnes, according to Andreas Stohl, a researcher at the Norwegian\u00a0Institute for Air Research.<\/p>\n

Tyre microplastics are already a major source of ocean pollutants, with an IUCN study\u00a0suggesting tyre microplastics represent 53% of microplastic pollution in the Mediterranean.\u00a0However, these microplastics are also involved in a more nuanced pollution issue: these\u00a0particles are small enough to be carried by the wind, leading to over 80,000 tonnes reaching\u00a0ice-covered areas, Stohl\u2019s research group has found.<\/p>\n

These microplastics, which are dark in colour due to the use of carbon black in tyres, are much\u00a0more effective in their absorption of heat than their light-coloured counterparts, meaning their\u00a0presence in snow or ice-covered regions accelerates the melting of polar ice caps, and\u00a0contribute to the global rise in sea levels.<\/p>\n

A tyred formula<\/em><\/h2>\n

These microplastics are created by the friction between the tyre and road surface, which the driver\u00a0feels as grip. Grip is just one of the three major properties of a tyre, in addition to rolling\u00a0resistance, linked to fuel efficiency, and abrasion resistance, also seen as the milage of the tyre,\u00a0with lower abrasion resistance increasing microplastic pollution. These forces are all\u00a0connected, and as such, attempting to improve one leads to the reduction of another. Silica\u00a0was originally added to tyres to improve rolling resistance and grip but worsens the abrasion\u00a0resistance of the tyre. In response to this, carbon black was added to reinforce tyres, but this\u00a0reduced some of silica\u2019s grip improvement and made processing more difficult.<\/p>\n

The EU will bring in new regulations in May 2021, which mean tyres must be labelled according\u00a0to their properties, including their abrasion resistance, and will be required to meet wear\u00a0standards, so a solution is needed. And fast.<\/p>\n

‘Xtraordinary’ improvements<\/em><\/h2>\n

CarbonX is a novel carbon compound, with a structure formed from a\u00a03D mesh of equally spaced and interconnecting carbon filaments\u00a0forming a regular hexagonal repeat. It has excellent reinforcement\u00a0properties, which lend well to its inclusion in tyres as has been\u00a0demonstrated in tests.<\/p>\n

\"\"

CarbonX is a compound made from a 3D mesh of interconnected carbon filaments as seen in the above electron micrograph (Image courtesy of CarbonX.nl)<\/p><\/div>\n

In their laboratory tests, the addition of CarbonX to winter tyres improves\u00a0abrasion resistance by 12%, while grip measures were increased and\u00a0fuel efficiency maintained. This is combined with the possibility of a\u00a0renewable production method, easier processability and reduction of\u00a0CO2 emissions.<\/p>\n

If the global tyre market increased abrasion resistance by just 10%, this\u00a0would represent a reduction of 610 million tonnes of microplastics\u00a0being released into the oceans and ice-covered areas. For a market\u00a0worth over $155.3 billion in 2018, and forecast to increase, the value of\u00a0this reduction should be obvious, both in environmental terms and\u00a0customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n

CarbonX is allowing an increase in abrasion resistance without decreasing the grip, pushing\u00a0forward a consumer-, and producer-friendly alternative to the common tyre. Without a\u00a0remarkable change in vehicle handling, CarbonX has the potential to make a truly remarkable\u00a0change on the arctic landscape.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

CarbonX, 2021. Create a better world: Smart and sustainable carbon solutions. [Online]\u00a0Available at: www.carbonx.nl\u00a0[Accessed 15 January 2021].<\/p>\n

Carrington, D., 2020. Car tyres are major source of ocean microplastics \u2013 study. [Online]\u00a0Available at: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/jul\/14\/car-tyres-are-major-source-of-ocean-microplastics-study\u00a0[Accessed 15 January 2021].<\/p>\n

European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association, n.d. Addressing tyre and road wear particles. [Online]\u00a0Available at: tyreandroadwear.com [Accessed 15 January 2021].<\/p>\n

Evangeliou, N. et al., 2020. Atmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions. Nature Communications, Volume\u00a011, p. 3381.<\/p>\n

Kann, D., 2020. Microplastics from your tires are likely reaching the most remote places on Earth, study finds. [Online]\u00a0Available at: https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/07\/14\/world\/microplastic-pollution-arctic-air-transport-climate-change-scn\/index.html\u00a0[Accessed 15 January 2021].<\/p>\n

Root, T., 2019. Tires: The plastic polluter you never thought about. [Online]\u00a0Available at: https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/environment\/2019\/09\/tires-unseen-plastic-polluter\/\u00a0[Accessed 15 January 2021].<\/p>\n

SIXDEGREES, 2020. Over 200,000 tonnes of plastic leaking into the Mediterranean each year. [Online]\u00a0Available at: https:\/\/www.sixdegreesnews.org\/archives\/29460\/over-200000-tonnes-of-plastic-leaking-into-the-mediterranean-each-year\u00a0[Accessed 21 January 2021].<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tyres are generating tiny microplastics which can be blown to remote, ice-covered areas across\u00a0the globe and enter the ocean. These particles are increasing the melting speed of these areas\u00a0of the ice, contributing to rising sea levels and ocean pollution. CarbonX, based in the Netherlands,\u00a0thinks the solution lies in using their novel carbon material to improve Read more about Reinventing the Tyre: using new materials to prevent pollution – Amelia Doran<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1330,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83],"tags":[81,277,273,274,275,270,276,271,268,269,51,14,272,267],"class_list":["post-766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting-research","tag-biology","tag-carbonx","tag-cars","tag-driving","tag-ice","tag-macroplastic","tag-melting","tag-microplastic","tag-plastic","tag-pollution","tag-research","tag-science","tag-study","tag-tyre"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9dFBD-cm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":772,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766\/revisions\/772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}