Developing a Greener Tire:

Protein-Activated Rubber Curing

EMILY BERG, RACHEL TAITANO, AND ALISON WALDMAN
ADVISORS: DR. BARONE AND BARBARA DEBUTTS
APRIL 24, 2018
Problem Statement
● Utilize gliadin, a component protein of wheat, as
an environmentally-friendly activator in rubber
curing to decrease ecotoxicity
○ Replace stearic acid and zinc oxide completely
http://www.agahanco.com/UserImage/11-20-tires.jpg

● Material design implemented into rubber

processing plant model in SuperPro to show
feasibility of scale-up

http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/ap/008a0b4b-ee2d-4335-
8767-c550af094cf6.grid-6x2.jpg
Criteria, Constraints, and Standards
● Criteria:
○ Final material and SuperPro design
must fully replace stearic acid and
zinc oxide with gliadin
○ Physical properties of cured
rubber must meet those of
conventional tire rubber
● Constraints:
○ Environmentally-friendly
○ Material design should be able to
be implemented in conventional
rubber processing plants, using
the same equipment
○ Non-hazardous

Parameter Value
● ASTM E-1136
Tensile sheet cure at 160°C 15.0 minutes
Standards for tire
tread compounds Stress at 300% elongation 11.4 ± 1.0 MPa
Tensile strength 15.2 MPa
Restored energy (rebound or resilience) 39 ± 2%
Final Design:
Characterization of
crosslink densities
Final Design:
Characterization of
curing kinetics
Final Design:
Hysteresis Tests
Final SuperPro Design
Final Design
Material phr Total cost (USD)
● Final material design Sulfur 8 59,904
used solely gliadin as TBBS 2 112,320
the activator in rubber
Conventional Zinc oxide 5 374,400
curing rubber curing Stearic acid 2 33,696
package
cis-1,4-polyisoprene -- 3,744,000
● Material costs
decreased compared Total production cost $4,324,320
to a conventional tire Sulfur 8 59,904
rubber curing package Gliadin-activated TBBS 1.92 107,827
rubber curing cis-1,4-polyisoprene -- 3,744,000
package Gliadin 8 28,455
Total production cost $3,940,186
References
ASTM. (2014). E1136-14: Standard specification for P195/75R14 radial standard reference test tire. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM Int.
Councell, T.B., Duckenfield, K.U., Landa, E.R., Callender, E. (2004). Tire-wear particles as a source of zinc to
the environment. Environ. Sci. Technol., 38(15), 4206-4214.
NIOSH. (1993). Special NIOSH Hazard Review. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/93-106/default.html