Driving on eggshells—not strolling on them—is perhaps a superb factor.
Stellantis is trying to patent a course of for incorporating them, or different biowaste materials, into tires with a view to additional decrease their environmental influence.
In a patent submitting revealed by the USA Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Jan. 23, 2025 and submitted in 2023, the automaker discusses utilizing eggshells as a alternative for 2 frequent filler supplies in tires: carbon black and silica.
As tires put on, each carbon black and silica are launched into the air as mud, Stellantis factors out. Certainly, a examine revealed in 2023 discovered that tire mud may very well be a major supply of particulate emissions. However Stellantis believes these fillers will be changed by calcium oxide (CaO) derived from eggshells.
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Hen egg shells are over 90% calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and CaO will be extracted utilizing a calcination course of—first washing them in acetone, then subjecting them to temperatures of at the least 1,652 levels Fahrenheit, inflicting the shells to decompose.
Decomposition provides off carbon dioxide (CO2), forsaking CaO as a white stable, in response to the patent submitting. That materials is then milled to the shape issue of carbon black or silica tire filler materials, and combined in with rubbers and different supplies to kind a tire compound.
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It is unclear if this one will show commercially viable, particularly contemplating that it originated with an organization that makes automobiles, not tires. However precise tire producers have been working so as to add extra sustainable supplies to their tires, which can be essential in additional decreasing the environmental influence of driving. As tailpipe emissions proceed to decrease with elevated EV adoption, different sources of air pollution must be tackled—like tires.
Bridgestone mentioned final yr that it was producing tires for the all-electric Audi E-Tron GT that used 55% recycled and renewable supplies, and it is included pure rubber from a desert shrub into IndyCar racing tires. In 2022 Michelin mentioned it might develop environmentally-friendly tires in partnership with Hyundai, and Goodyear confirmed an illustration tire that reduce down use of petroleum-based supplies, in addition to emissions from manufacturing.
