Evonik uses agricultural waste rice husk ash to make tires
Recently, Evonik, the world's leading specialty chemicals company, entered into a strategic cooperation with Austria's Pörner Group and Thailand's Phichit Bio Power Co., Ltd. to supply sustainable precipitation ULTRASIL® silica for the tire industry. The key raw material for this sustainable product, sodium silicate, is made from agricultural waste rice husk ash, and the entire production process uses green energy.
Silica plays a key role in the manufacture of green tires. Compared to conventional passenger car tires, green tires can reduce energy consumption by up to 8%. The demand for sustainable raw materials in the tire industry is currently increasing significantly. The new sustainable ULTRASIL® silica is made from bio-based sodium silicate and uses green energy throughout the production process. As a result, the carbon footprint of this new sustainable precipitated silica will be significantly reduced.
Evonik and its partners are committed to further improving the sustainable benefits of tire manufacturing and increasing the use of renewable raw materials in the tire industry. The Pörner Group uses leading production processes to generate silicates from rice husk ash and uses biomass energy. Thanks to this, the CO2 footprint of Evonik's sustainable silica can be reduced by 30% compared to conventional silica products. Thai biomass energy producer Phichit Bio Power Co., Ltd. and Pörner Group have signed a technology licensing agreement to invest in the construction of a new rice husk ash-to-sodium silicate plant in Thailand. This move will increase the supply of bio-based sodium silicate, so Evonik can increase the production capacity of sustainable silica to meet the needs of the global tire industry.
