Goodyear Tire & Rubber has contracted with PPG Industries to use Agilon performance silica to increase the fuel efficiency of its tires.
Goodyear will first use the next-generation reinforcing filler developed by PPG in its EfficientGrip tires, a line of high-performance sport-utility-vehicle tires debuting in Latin America this month. Goodyear plans to incorporate Agilon performance silica into future high-value-added tire launches in other regions in 2015.
A chemically modified precipitated silica, Agilon performance silica is a high-value technology that can improve the performance of products in which it is used, PPG says. When substituted for traditional silica-silane in tire compounds, Agilon performance silica can improve vehicle fuel efficiency, tire traction and treadwear by as much as 5 to 10 percent, according to the company.
In addition, because PPG formulates Agilon performance silica by precipitating silica and silane together, tire manufacturers no longer have to perform this non-value-added processing step. This reduces complexity, increases manufacturing efficiency, saves energy and virtually eliminates rubber-mixing-relatedvolatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Goodyear has used other environmentally sustainable sources of silica in its tires such as rice husk waste. – environmentalleader.com