A simple observation by a researcher at Ohio State University, that tomato peels were uncrushed even when they were loaded on top of each other, led to a line of research which may see your tires made out of eggshells and tomato peels. Researchers, led by Katrina Cornish, at Ohio State University, have found that food waste, especially eggshells and tomato peels can replace the carbon intensive and increasingly hard to find, carbon black in rubber tires. Read on to find out why eggshells and tomato peel can be used to make your next set of tires:
Reduce food waste from landfills
According to the EPA, one-fifth of waste at landfills is food. Using food waste in manufacturing eco-friendly materials will keep food waste out of landfills. This will help fight climate change, as the bacteria in landfills turn food into methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas. Using eggshells and tomato peels could potentially reduce dependence on fossil fuels, reduce food waste in landfills and help develop sustainable rubber items, especially rubber tires.
The advantages of eggshells and tomato peels as fillers
Out of many types of food waste including sauerkraut juice, milk powder, batter drippings, eggshells and tomato peels were found to be the toughest and best suited to be used as filler in tires. Tomato peels are naturally thick and tough, which could withstand a huge amount of weight, as well as being highly stable at very high temperatures. They can be used to produce materials which give good performance.
Katrina Cornish and her team found that crushed eggshells worked well as a reinforcer.
Eggshells, which are composed…
