Magazine for the professional tire industry
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MTD September 2015 Why guayule? Cooper looks for a substitution for natural and synthetic rubber and fnds it in a native southwest shrub By Lori L. Mavrigian T arget date, 2017. Tat's when Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. plans to produce a prototype tire with 100% of its natural and synthetic rubber components substituted with those made from guayule, a shrub native to the United States. Instead of hevea natural rubber (HNR) tapped from rubber trees grown in countries such as Tailand, India and Malaysia, components will be made from rubber extracted from a hardy bush grown in Arizona and throughout the southwestern U.S. Te company recently demonstrated its third generation of test tires produced with several components made from 100% guayule. It held the industry's frst ride-and-drive event at the Cooper Vehicle & Test Center in Pearsall, Texas, using tires produced with guayule. By the numbers Cooper is leading the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) project developing guayule (pronounced why-you-lee) as a substitute for HNR in tires. It is working with the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Cornell University, Arizona State University, Clemson University and PanAridus, a bio- agricultural company. In 2012, Cooper and its consortium partners were awarded a four-year, $6.9 million grant to develop guayule manufacturing processes, test guayule as a strategic source of raw material in tires, and evaluate the remaining biomass for fuel applications. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) also is studying the guayule plant. It opened its Agro Operations Guayule Research Farm in October 2013 in Eloy, Ariz., and a Biorubber Process Research Center in 2014 in Mesa, Ariz. Focus on industry Regions in the U.S. southwest are perfect for growing guayule. Mike Fraley, CEO of PanAridus, says that although he knows of no other country currently planting guayule, arid regions in Australia, India and China could be suitable. 80