Lehigh Technologies and the Dow Chemical Co. are
partnering in a collaboration targeted at making tires
more sustainable.
The two firms will merge their respective proprietary
products to modify micronized rubber powders as the
program combines Dow’s polymer chemistry with Lehigh’s
sustainable rubber compound development and
testing.
“This collaboration is a great opportunity to continue
leveraging our latex polymer technology for a
sustainable cause,” says Colin Gouveia, general manager
at Dow Construction Chemicals.
“Dow’s 2015 Sustainability Goals include a focus on
technologies that are advantaged by sustainable
chemistry, and this project is anchored in that same
commitment,” he continues. “Further, we’re excited to
work with Lehigh’s unique market understanding and
application expertise to develop solutions that bring
value to the marketplace.”
Lehigh’s proprietary manufacturing process takes tire
and other post-industrial rubber material and “upcycles”
it into micron-scale, high quality, sustainable powders
that are compatible with customers’ existing
formulations, making it easy to integrate into new or
existing products, according to Dr. Alan Barton,
Lehigh’s CEO.
The sustainable powders assist companies in achieving
sustainability goals while helping manage the high cost
of non-renewable raw materials, he says. Currently,
there are more than 100 million tires containing the
micronized rubber powder.
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In June the company launched an industry-wide “Road to
One Billion Campaign” to put a billion tires on the road
manufactured with sustainable materials to further
reduce the carbon footprint of a tire.
“Our primary customer base, the world’s leading tire
companies, has been requesting advanced technologies to
enable increased sustainable content in tires,” Barton
reports.
“The Dow-Lehigh research program is part of a broader
technology program at Lehigh aimed at providing
sustainable solutions without compromise,” he
asserts.
“Our objective is to have 1 billion tires on the road
manufactured with our alternative material,” adds
Barton, “our collaboration with Dow is a critical step
in realizing this significant milestone.”
For more information, visit www.dow.com and www.lehightechnologies.com.
