The share of renewable and recycled materials in Continental’s tire production averaged 26% in 2024, a figure that the tire manufacturer aims to increase by 2-3% in 2025. By 2030, Continental’s target is to use over 40% of renewable and recycled materials.
As carbon black and silica make up a large proportion of the raw materials in tire production, Conti aims to increase the sustainability of these fillers to help hit its materials target.
Silica: Rice husks
Continental is increasingly using silica variants across its whole tire portfolio in order to reduce resource consumption while still meeting required safety, efficiency and rolling resistance requirements. Now, it is using silica obtained from rice husks as a more environmentally friendly alternative to using quartz sand.
Rice husks are an agricultural by-product of the Asian agricultural industry and Italian risotto rice production. This type of silica is manufactured by companies such as Solvay in Italy. The method of production from biomass is said to be more energy-efficient than conventional production processes and supports the circular economy.
Carbon black: Three alternatives
Around a dozen different types of carbon black are used by Continental during tire production, depending on its specific use.
For the raw material carbon black, Continental has three alternative processes. Firstly, carbon black has been produced from bio-based alternatives such as tall oil, a waste product from the paper industry. Secondly, the company has produced it from recycled raw materials such as pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tires. Thirdly, Conti has partnered with Pyrum Innovations, a specialist in the reprocessing of end-of-life tires using thermolysis technology, to further optimize and expand the recycling of end-of-life tires through pyrolysis, recovering carbon black directly from end-of-life tires.
“Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand at Continental,” said Jorge Almeida, head of sustainability at Continental Tires. “Using silica from the ashes of rice husks in our tires shows that we are breaking completely new ground – without compromising on safety, quality or performance.”
Related news:Read about Prism Worldwide’s advances in odor reduction, sustainable thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) development and high-content ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) reuse. These three challenges have been considered as barriers to wider adoption of recycled materials in consumer and industrial products
