14 DAY TRIAL // Thanks to research conducted by experts at the Ohio State University, drivers around the world may drive cars outfitted with tires made partly out of tree fibers in a few years. The “active ingredient” in the new materials is microcrystalline cellulose, a compound that can easily be extracted from plant fibers even now. Reportedly, their insertion in the tires will lead to better, cheaper and safer products, which will also enable drivers to save a lot of money on fuel, by increasing the vehicle's overall efficiency.
The cellulose compound will replace the silica as a reinforcement element in rubber tires, which producers believe would increase the overall performance. Additionally, the ensuing tires will also be able to tolerate heat buildups better, and will have the same adherence to wet or cold roads. Very little amounts of the forces reaching it will be lost on slippery pavements, which means that the engine will run at a constant level, saving fuel. Early tests demonstrated that the new tires would maintain their strength in all road conditions.
“We were surprised at how favorable the results were for the use of this material. This could lead to a new generation of automotive tire technology, one of the first fundamental changes to come around in a long time,” OSU College of Forestry Associate Professor of Wood Science and Engineering Kaichang Li says of the research. He worked with the microcrystalline cellulose material together with Wen Bai, an OSU graduate student.
At this point, carbon black and silica are the most preferred reinforcements in tires. However, the former is made up of increasingly expensive oil, while the latter is very cost- and labor-intensive to produce, and therefore expensive. Because of their high densities, both elements tend to increase drag, and to reduce fuel efficiency on the tires they form.
The goal of the research team was to find materials that were both better and cheaper than this combination. They managed to identify this specific cellulose compound as meeting the criteria, and discovered that it could be readily produced through the low-cost process of acid hydrolysis, from cellulose. This material makes up between 40 and 50 percent of all the matter forming plants and trees. Details of the find were published in the latest issue of the journal Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing.