SCI Goodyear’s new prototype tires are made of soybeans — and they could majorly improve your gas mileage

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Story by Jeremiah Budin • 13h



Goodyear green tire, tire prototype made from soybeans

Goodyear green tire, tire prototype made from soybeans© Provided by The Cool Down

Tire manufacturer Goodyear has made a pledge to create a tire made from 100% sustainable materials by the year 2030. And while other such pledges don’t always necessarily come to fruition, it appears that Goodyear is well on its way.

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company unveiled a prototype tire made from 90% sustainable materials. That’s up a whopping 20% from the already impressive prototype tire the company revealed at last year’s CES, which was made from 70% sustainable materials.

What’s more, Goodyear says that the new prototype has already passed Department of Transportation testing, meaning it’s approved for road use. Now, all it has to do is secure enough materials to produce the new tires at a commercial scale, and then the tires should be hitting the roads.

The tires are made from soybean oil (instead of petroleum oil), rice husk silica (a byproduct of rice milling that is abundant in rice-producing countries), postconsumer polyester, and bio renewable pine tar resins.

Polyester, in particular, is a major environmental problem, and finding ways to recycle it while also cutting down on the need for new materials is a great thing for our planet. Favored by fast-fashion brands, polyester is made from nonrenewable oil and makes up a huge portion of the 100 million tons of textile waste sent to landfills each year. From the landfills, it leaches toxins into the surrounding soil and water.

While some of Goodyear’s plans for more sustainably made tires were previously upset by supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, the company appears to be back on track, and it’s not taking its eye off the ball.

“While we celebrated [the 70% sustainable tire], we knew it set the foundation for us to continue to push forward,” the senior vice president and chief technology officer said.

In addition to the sustainable materials, Goodyear says that the new tires have a lower rolling resistance, which means better gas mileage and longer electric vehicle ranges. Combine that with the reduced carbon footprint and they truly sound like the tires of the future.

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Goodyear’s new prototype tires are made of soybeans — and they could majorly improve your gas mileage first appeared on The Cool Down.

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BFC- Deep down, I really hate it when Industry uses Human Food Sources to make commodities. We have plenty of oil, use it, it works. Save our soybeans and corn please.
 

Teeja

On the Beach
What could go wrong??

rday7qqun1t41.jpg

"MMmmmm!!! Tastes like beans!!"
 

workhorse

Veteran Member
During WW2 didn’t Illinois have soybean plates in 43. They were discontinued due to animals eating them. This is different though because they are just using the oil.
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
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I wouldn't totally discount it's physical properties.

Nothing is as "rubbery" as natural rubber. (from rubber trees)

Tires are typically SBR (styrene, butadiene, rubber)

A lot of crap, synthetic rubber.
 

The Mountain

Here since the beginning
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Yeah... remember the soy based wire coatings? Mice LOVE them...

Summerthyme

I heard something about the wiring in certain cars, fords I think, having insulation made from a soy based polymer.

Rats loved that stuff.

It was Mercedes, 1992 to 1996. Not only did animals like the wiring, it started breaking down within a few years on its own.
 

Dobbin

Faithful Steed
I believe it was Henry Ford who pioneered car parts from "natural product."

henry-fords-soybean-car-bettmann.jpg


The pix above is Ford winding up for a kick to prove the durability of a trunk lid made from "natural plastic.

Ford and Edison worked before Edison's death (in 1931) on "natural substitutes." IIRC, Edison had part of his "Summer Estates" set aside to work with local plant life that might be used in tires.

AP_Henry-Ford.jpg


And WWII rubber shortage brought about "natural rubber substitutes."


Owner says it. "There's nothing new under the sun..."

Dobbin
 

Taco Salad

Contributing Member
The tire in that picture at the top of the page looks like a squirrel already took a chunk out of it. Not something that I want on my truck or dump trailer at this time. Things can go bad wrong real fast with those and driving around on magic beans would be more than tempting fate it would be pissing in the face of the gods.
 

Redleg

Veteran Member
Can't wait to see the cost of a set of tires. I'm sure the .gov will force this on everyone when they learn about it.
Just like EV cars.
 

The Mountain

Here since the beginning
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BFC- Deep down, I really hate it when Industry uses Human Food Sources to make commodities. We have plenty of oil, use it, it works. Save our soybeans and corn please.

In this case, I don't have as much of a problem with it. Yes, tires made from petroleum are perfectly fine, but once they're worn out, there's not much we can do with them. They just pile up, in huge mounds that provide breeding ground for mosquitoes and occasionally catch fire and are almost impossible to extinguish.
 

Bud in Fla

Veteran Member
A few years back they a used soy based lubricant in the production of the lead vent pipe flashing for roof vents. Squirrels loved to eat the stuff and it caused a LOT of damage to houses over the years.
 

CaryC

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I wouldn't totally discount it's physical properties.

Nothing is as "rubbery" as natural rubber. (from rubber trees)

Tires are typically SBR (styrene, butadiene, rubber)

A lot of crap, synthetic rubber.
Just for informational purposes:

I think the ad is mostly for the woke crowd. So they don't get unfriended on facebook.

As Millwright noted the majority of a tire is synthetic. All is synthetic except about 5 lbs of natural rubber in a 1000 lb batch of mix goes into the tread rubber.

Compared to the component part that is for the steel cord. Which is 100% natural.

There are 14 different component parts to a tire. In every tire. Each component has a different mix for the job it is to do. Tread, sidewall, bead, steel belt, polyester belt, etc.

Included in a mix (all the rubber chemicals etc. goes into a "Mixer") and the total weight of the mix is roughly 1000 lbs. The Mixer turns out a batch of mix in 75 seconds.

Along with the rubber of various kinds, is also carbon black, (it's what is on the inside of a hurricane lamp that makes the glass black) which can be from 80 - 200 lbs. per batch. Depending on what component is being mixed.

But all of these chemicals are dry, The carbon black is so dry it switches around like water when you try to sweep it up. So to get all these different chemicals to stick together, and be one kind of rubber, like cake mix, you have to add oil (milk in the cake mix).

They have always added oil. And for each component they have used separately or together at least 4 types of oil. Not all the oil was petroleum based. One oil in particular was like animal fat - lard. If you didn't keep the pipeline heated it would turn solid and white. Or it could have been Crisco vegetable oil. All we knew it by, was the code number.

All they have done is found out that the oil you use in cooking, (check your labels to find out which ones) vegetable oil can be used in place of some of the petroleum oil. Which with the situation in the global oil market, may stabilize the availability and supply.

BTW one of the oils used on the 2nd pass of the steel belt, was embalming fluid.

So the lesson is:

If you're going to make a big fire and throw a tire in to fry French Fries, take the steel belt out first.

Otherwise enjoy your meal. LOL

Like I said am thinking the ad if for the woke. Need tires buy Goodyear, not only will it keep my pension going, but they are organic.
 
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