e360 digest

18 Nov 2008: Japanese Manufacturer Is Developing Petroleum-Free Tire

The second-largest tire manufacturer in Japan is developing a tire that company officials say will contain no petrochemical materials and will spin more efficiently on the road. Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. will introduce the tire to the Japanese market by 2013, a company spokesman said. Earlier this year, Sumitomo unveiled a tire containing only 3 percent petrochemicals, compared with 56 percent for its normal tires. Ninety-seven percent of that tire consists of materials such as steel wires, vegetable oil, and natural rubber. “How to produce the remaining 3-percent part from other natural resources but oil is now under development,” said a company spokesman. The tire containing only 3 percent petrochemicals costs 30 percent more than the company’s ordinary tire but Sumitomo says it is on target to sell 20,000 sets of the tire this fiscal year.

Also On Yale Environment 360
Courting Controversy with a New View on Exotic Species
Apocalypse Fatigue: Losing the Public on Climate Change
Pervasive Plastics: Why the U.S. Needs New and Tighter Controls

Click here to view the complete e360 Digest
Return to homepage

e360 digest

18 Nov 2008: Japanese Manufacturer Is Developing Petroleum-Free Tire

SEARCH

DEPARTMENTS

TOPICS

REGIONS

ABOUT

CONNECT

OF INTEREST

RESOURCES