Akron's Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is pioneering new frontiers in both tire and non-tire elastomer technology with the use of one of the most ubiquitous and environmentally friendly materials in the world: soybean oil.
According to Robert Woloszynek, chief engineer of polymer science for Goodyear, use of the vegetable byproduct over the past four years has transitioned from the research and development stage to the commercialized forefront, replacing petroleum-based oils in many of the company's premium tire brands.
And through compounding and other advancements, the world's third-largest tiremaker has been able to meet the same performance thresholds — such as rolling resistance, wet and dry performance, and treadwear — found in tires with legacy naphthenic oils.
Woloszynek gave an update on Goodyear's soybean oil efforts during September's virtual International Tire Exhibition & Conference, hosted by Rubber & Plastics News, a sister publication of Crain's Cleveland Business.
"I consider soybean oil to be one of the materials that checks all the boxes," he said. "We have successfully transferred soybean oil to our premium products, and the success of those products over the last four years has led to great opportunities. ... This is proving to be a differentiator for Goodyear."
With fuel efficiency and sustainability at the top of customer demands today, replacing the use of petroleum-based oils in tire and nontire products has become essential, Woloszynek said.
Customers are more educated today and want all-in-one tire performance, something that has not been possible without complex formulations and compounds.
"Customers are looking for wet performance, increased fuel efficiency, snow performance, increased tread life, manufacturing efficiency and sustainability," Woloszynek said.
Rolling resistance, wet and dry performance (in the snow, sun and rain) and treadwear form the "performance triangle" for tiremakers, and in the past increasing one meant weakening another.
Through compounding and modifications, Goodyear says it has seen success with petroleum-based oils, but there always has been a trade-off in terms of environmental impact or performance.
But through some "tremendous collaboration" with the United Soybean Board, Goodyear has seen its new technology come to fruition.
"The United Soybean Board promotes Goodyear products and provides new opportunities to market this technology to our customers," the tiremaker's chief polymer science engineer said. "Farmers invest funds from the board to find new applications for soybean oil."
Soybean oil is a byproduct of beans grown for protein, he said, and even with food and other industrial applications, there are "still billions of pounds of soybean oil available."
Goodyear has found soybean oil to be "domestic, abundant and renewable" and to possess some key attributes for tiremaking, such as thermal stability and compatibility with rubber compounds.
"It is a renewable resource, compound adjustments are possible and various grades are available," he said.
In fact, soybean oil's properties can mean better manufacturing capacity and a reduction in the energy needed in overall production, he said.
Though, soybean oil is not entirely perfect when it comes to polymers, though, he said. Improvements in one corner of the performance triangle still can come at the expense of another.
"Soybean oil is good for wet traction, compounded with high styrene and high vinyl, but it took a hit in treadwear when we improved the others," he said. "We can adjust by compounding, and we are able to balance the properties and in many cases see an improvement in performance."
So how is Goodyear leveraging soybean oil to give the proper performance?
"We have a lot of levers we can pull with soybean oil," he said. "Soybean oil allows a compound to remain flexible across a broad temperature range, improving the balance of wet and snow traction."
Such benefits have found their way to the commercial front lines for Goodyear, as soybean oil has replaced petroleum oil entirely in the company's Assurance WeatherReady tire, introduced in 2017. That move provided a 60% overall reduction in petroleum products in the tire, Woloszynek said.
Soybean oil also is used in the company's Eagle Enforcer All Weather tire, used on police cruisers "where all-weather traction for police forces are critical," Woloszynek said. The move reduced overall petroleum products by about 40%.
About the same reduction was seen in Goodyear's Eagle Exhilarate tire, introduced in 2019 as an ultra-high performance tire that also is able to balance snow/wet performance, according to Woloszynek.
Goodyear is taking the technology beyond tires, as a partnership with Sketchers finds soybean oil being compounded into shoes for enhanced wear and stability.
Goodyear looks to continue the expansion of soybean oil technology. And OEMs are watching.
"This is providing a ton of flexibility for us," Woloszynek said, adding that Goodyear is in discussions with municipal fleets such as the New York City police and fire departments, as well as the New York-New Jersey Port Authority.
"They have begun to implement soybean oil-contained tires and they are getting great results. ... Because of these successes and our continued development, we have a long-term goal of fully eliminating petroleum oils by 2040. Soybean oil is delivering for Goodyear."
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October 25, 2020 at 03:00PM
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