Goodyear získal patent na získávání gumy z pneumatik

Největší výrobce pneumatik na světě - firma Goodyear získal patent na proces znovuzískávání vysokého procenta gumy z ojetých pneumatik. Ta může být využita bez degradace svých vlastností do dalších výrobků včetně pneumatik. Nový proces je schopen dosáhnout až 80% účinnosti. Při komerčním využití může být tímto způsobem recyklováno jen v Severní Americe 800 milionů ojetých pneumatik. Goodyear gets patent to recover rubber from tires USA: September 10, 1999 CLEVELAND - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the largest tire maker in the world, on Wednesday said it may have found a way to get rid of 800 million spare tires - rubber ones, that is. Akron-based Goodyear said it has obtained a patent for a process that will recover a high percentage of rubber from existing tires so it can be recycled into other products, including tires. Although recycling tires is not new, this process is different because it will give the company a recovery rate of 80 percent or higher of the rubber compared with the current typical yield of 1 to 2 percent. The company noted that recycling of cured rubber has been difficult, because once vulcanized, rubber cannot be easily melted and reformed into other products. "Initial tests resulted in a 40 percent recovery rate of the raw polymer with its structures essentially preserved, and through process improvements we've been able to achieve an 80 percent recovery level. This demonstrates that the chemistry to recover polymer close to its original state is possible," Goodyear said. If the process can be applied on a large scale commercial basis it could offer the recycling of more than 800 million scrap tires in North America alone, Goodyear said. The process also could increase the recycled content in automotive components, it added. Ron Dill, director of analytical and materials testing at Goodyear, told Reuters, the process has been under investigation for the past four or five years but the company only recently hit on the right formula for which it obtained a patent in April. "Right now we are in the feasibility stage and I don't know when it will be commercially viable," he said. He declined to say how much Goodyear is investing in the project or when it may be completed. Dill said what sets Goodyear's process apart is a new solvent that extracts the needed polymer without degrading it. The company's founder, Charles Goodyear, discovered the process of vulcanization which mixed and baked sulphur and rubber together to create a tough, cured compound that could withstand the heat, stress and strain demanded of tires. It noted that the new process preserves the rubber's chemical composition and molecular weight, leaving the rubber suitable for recycling into new products. It uses an environmentally friendly, recyclable solvent, it added. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Zdroj: Planet Ark http://www.planetark.org/news/