Car tyres with lignin reinforcing

Car tyres with lignin reinforcing

Friday 3 Mar 2023

Pirelli is to introduce passenger car tyres incorporating wood-derived lignin fillers produced via an innovative process technology later this year. The industrial process has been optimised for "scale-up and utilisation in car tyre products,” Luciano Tadielli, innovative materials researcher, Pirelli Tyre SpA, said at the DKT IRC conference.

Employing novel chemical treatment and co-precipitation techniques, Pirelli's development follows years of R&D to overcome the challenges of successfully mixing lignin into rubber compounds. “You will find the lignin filler in the tyre from the end of this year,” Tadielli told ERJ.

As a bio-based material, lignin – a by-product of the paper pulping process in the paper industry – offers a sustainable alternative to carbon black as a reinforcing filler in tyres and rubber products. Pirelli will start with one application in one tyre size, as the lignin-based compounds for each application can be very different, according to the Milan-based researcher.

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Source: ERJ

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