Liquid Farnesene Rubber (LFR) is a bio-based and renewable material that gathers performance and sustainability. Using the beta-farnesene monomer that comes from sugar cane, LFR can improve grip performance, rolling resistance and fuel efficiency in Tires. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows significantly reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission when compared with conventional liquid rubber, in some cases, up to 108% reduction is achieved. Kuraray will present the latest result of using LFR in SBR formulation for winter tires and GHG index of standard liquid rubbers and LFR.
Tatsuyuki Abe | Sales Engineer, Kuraray

Long-term sustainable policy and development of self-healing material will be introduced. Sumitomo Rubber Industries announced the long-term sustainable policy to be working toward the establishment of sustainable society by 2050. Self-healing elastomer is a smart material, contributing to the sustainable society, by means of improving the durability of tires. ENR based self-healing elastomer has been investigated to apply for tire compounds. The physical properties, molecular structure and its characteristics will be introduced.
Lily Schreiber | Materials and Compounds Engineer, Sumitomo Rubber
David Johansen | Vice President -Technical, Sumitomo Rubber

The natural rubber - silica interface has been a long-standing problem in tread rubber compound technology. Conventional solid-phase internal mixing technologies that have served the tire industry so well for so long do not work well for this material combination. As a result, tread technology for heavy-duty applications that require natural rubber has not seen the same progress as that for light-duty applications using synthetic rubber. Often, low rolling resistance (LRR) truck and bus radial (TBR) tire tread compounds suffer from poor wear and tear resistance. Founded in 2019 with a National Science Foundation grant, Silpara Technologies has developed a novel material, based on a unique liquid-phase mixing process, for improving the bond between natural rubber and silica in tire tread compounds. Compounds based on Silpara's technology have been developed that show significant improvements to commercial LRR TBR compounds in independent laboratory testing. This presentation is a journey from the nano-scale to the tire-scale: The technology is introduced via remarkable nano-scale imaging; then latest LRR TBR compound test results will be presented, including results from ongoing truck fleet trials
Tom Rosenmayer, PhD | Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Silpara Technologies

Global regulations, tire labeling, strict OE requirements, electrification and customer awareness drive developments for next generation tires which require new and improved raw materials.  In particular, the focus on improved rolling resistance (fuel economy) and tire wear (tire life) have become increasingly important as part of broader sustainability initiatives of the automotive and transportation industries. ARLANXEO is uniquely positioned as the largest synthetic rubber producer in the world to offer a broad portfolio of elastomers including polybutadiene (BR), and co-polymers of styrene and butadiene (SBR) which can be optimized for each customer’s requirements to support new tire developments. This presentation will highlight recent developments in butadiene (BR) and styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber to improve tire performance. A brief overview of the ARLANXEO sustainability roadmap will also be presented.
Dr. Kevin Kulbaba | Technical Service + Development Manager, ARLANXEO Inc

Molecular Rebar® (MR) carbon nanotubes have been proven to toughen rubber compounds, creating longer-lasting tire tread compounds that will reduce tire wear particle pollution and increase tire wear particle size. MR replaces a portion of existing filler systems, like carbon black and silane-coupled silica, improving tire rolling resistance and tire lifetime on electric vehicles (EVs), which in turn improves vehicle energy efficiency by an estimated 7-12%. Additionally, when coupled with 6PPD, Molecular Rebar nanotubes reduce the dissolution rate of 6PPD and its derivative, 6PPD-quinone, into aqueous solutions, reducing the bio-availability of 6PPD-related compounds for aquatic life. This presentation will focus on the sustainability-focused benefits that Molecular Rebar provides for tire elastomer compounds- reducing particle pollution, extending tire lifetime, improving energy efficiency, and mitigating 6PPD-related environmental concerns.
August Krupp | Director of Rubber Development , Molecular Rebar Design

6PPD is a critical stabilizer for tires which has been used for over 50 years.   The recent discovery of a byproduct formed on oxidation (6PPDQ) has been shown to kill Coho salmon at very low concentrations.  This paper will discuss the importance of 6PPD to the industry, the difficulty in finding a replacement and some of the work going on to understand how 6PPD transformation products may affect the environment. 
Howard Colvin | Consultant , Colvin Consultants

Tire rolling resistance (RR) is closely related to overall vehicle fuel economy or range, and it’s common that vehicle manufacturers require tire rolling resistance reduction to help optimize fuel economy/cruising range. Tire rolling resistance measurement requirements for use in consumer tire labeling laws are being released in some countries and districts. Threshold values for tires are being established to achieve energy savings, meet green initiatives, and reduce carbon emissions. Current conventional rolling resistance testing methods only focus on tire performance at an ambient temperature of 24℃ or 25℃, but real-world applications span a much broader range of operation. This paper combines theoretical analysis and experimental methods to explore the rolling resistance of tires at other temperatures.
Matthew Kent | Technical Director, Tire and Wheel Test Lab, Smithers

In 2021, over 274 million scrap tires were generated in the United States (USTMA, 2022). TDA has been proven as an ideal stormwater retention/detention aggregate for infiltration galleries. TDA has a 50% void space allowing for 13 ft3 of water to be stored in 1 yd3 of TDA. This is a helpful part of designing a cost-effective stormwater infiltration system. TDA has very high permeability and twice as much void space by volume when replacing gravel or stone in stormwater infiltration systems. With current research showing the water cleaning capabilities of this product, the stormwater systems designed with TDA serve two purposes: water storage and water treatment. Our nation’s stormwater runoff is an expensive water pollution challenge. As stormwater hits impervious surfaces, it transports phosphorus, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, metals, and organic compounds from the land into our surface waters and then ground water. Hence, untreated stormwater runoff is a principal contributor to flooding and the contamination of our precious water resources. One goal of stormwater management BMPs is to control and improve the quality of runoff. TDA is also recognized for its sorptive capacity to remove dissolved and suspended water contaminants. TDA consists of 75% to 80% w/w of organic carbon material and 10 to 15% w/w ferric material - the steel bead Wires Exposed TDA (We TDA) material. TDA attracts long-chain non-polar organic chemicals, adsorbs heavy metals and organic compounds, degrades halogenated compounds, and precipitates nutrients. Furthermore, TDA provides surface area for regenerative and increased biofilm growth over twice as much as stone, which in turn biologically removes contaminants from runoff. Using TDA in stormwater management systems can treat runoff that pollutes receiving water bodies due to anthropogenic activities. Experiments were conducted to study inorganic phosphate removal using metal wires from TDA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Laboratory experiments showed that up to 97% of dissolved inorganic phosphate could be removed with We TDA material in a 3:1 ratio of ferric wire to inorganic phosphate in batch tests and 80% removal in a continuous system with 60-cm wire exposed TDA material. This material is currently being studied for capturing contaminants of emerging concerns, like microplastics. TDA has a high adsorbing capacity due to a big surface area for removing water contaminants found in stormwater. Several studies revealed that TDA can remove sediment, oil, and grease up to 98 and 99%, respectively (Mandal and Warith, 2008; García-Pérez et al. 2015). Moreover, TDA was reported to remove BTEX toxic chemicals that are cariogenic such as ethylbenzene and toluene up to 99% (Kim et al., 1997; Gunasekara et al. 2000). TDA was also proven to reduce nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) that lead to algal bloom and eutrophication of water bodies up to 90% (Wang et al., 2011; Zhou et al., 2016; García-Pérez et al., 2015). Alternatively, TDA was revealed to remove pathogens, viruses, and bacteria from leachate by decreasing the crucial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) up to 90% and 96% respectively. Some studies have reported TDA's capability to remove heavy metals (Cr and Cd) from the water with ultrasound (up to 47 and 63%, respectively). TDA also absorbs organics from water since it contains polymers and black carbon, which enables the growth of biomass that, in turn, serves as a biofilter (Mandal and Warith, 2008). Keywords: Stormwater, Sustainability, Material Reuse, Biodiversity in Civil Engineering, Circular Economy
Monte Niemi | CEO, First State Tire Recycling and TDA Manufacturing

Millions of tires per year are added to the waste stream requiring management plans.  For most of the last 120 years, this has meant placing tires in waste heaps or burning them as fuel for various manufacturing processes (i.e cement production, etc).  The enormous environmental costs have led to a movement towards sustainability.  Pyrolysis of tires under inert gases has developed as a viable technology to recycle tires to minimize the environmental costs associated with their disposal. The various recovered materials have often been considered of lower quality than the original or virgin materials from which they were derived.  The pyrolysis process results in a variety of materials which usually require additional processing to yield a truly reusable material.  For example, the gas stream from pyrolyzed tires contains a mixture of several gases which must be separated for reuse in producing usable materials. The tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) also contains some residues and is mostly used as heating oil or fuel. In addition, the recovered carbon blacks (rCB) invariably contain significant amounts of ash consisting of silica and zinc species at relatively high percentages compared to “virgin” carbon blacks. While remediation techniques and processes are improving at a rapid rate, there are still deficits which limit suitable applications for rCB. An approach to address these deficits which Orion Engineered Carbons is leading involves the use of TPO as a feedstock to produce carbon blacks. Production conditions developed to utilize sustainably produced biogenic oils to produce carbon black for rubber and printing applications were pioneered by Orion Engineered Carbons starting in 2009. These production conditions are now being applied to the production of carbon black for tire applications. To date, we have produced, at full factory scale, multiple “tire” grades of carbon black utilizing blends of TPO with conventional carbon black feedstock oils. Laboratory testing in model tire compounds have shown no performance off sets as compared to carbon black produced using standard feedstock oils and meet all of our production and shipping specifications for the standard ASTM products. When carbon black from biogenic oils and TPO are included, the slate of sustainably produced grades is sufficient to build fully functioning tires which conform to the industry norms for performance.The grades produced using TPO will contribute to circularity in the tire industry and are an important part of Orion’s sustainability goal to gradually replace fossil-based feedstocks with sustainable feedstocks. All grades are available for lab scale sampling and several are available for full scale samples to allow production of demonstration tires to fully vet the materials.
Lin Bradley | Technical Market Manager – Rubber , Orion Engineered Carbons

As an added conference benefit, Smithers is planning a tour of the Treadwell Research Park Track after the second day of the conference, on Wednesday, May 24, 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM. 
We will provide transportation to and from the proving ground and a fun setting for discussions with conference attendees, great food and drinks, as well as the opportunity to tour the various testing areas at the proving ground. Smithers staff will be on hand for the tours and to answer any questions attendees may have. Participants will have a chance to see various track and surface types including wet and dry VDA’s, a high-speed oval, and off-road trails.
The Smithers team members and proving ground staff will be on hand to answer any questions. Transportation will be provided from the conference venue.

*Tour participation is limited and for conference delegates only. Participation will be confirmed on first-come first-served basis after purchase of delegate pass and completion of the form below.

Event Details
Join us for a casual reception to network with the industry, enjoy good food and drinks, and learn more about the proving ground.

• Complimentary heavy hors d’oeurves
• Complimentary drinks
• Facility tours with overview of track capabilities by facility staff

Dress code

• Casual
• Closed-toe shoes Required