Rice husk ash as filler in tread compounds to improve rolling resistance

Abstract In the tire industry carbon black is being replaced by silica as a filler in recent due to the development of “green tires”. Amorphous precipitated silica in combination with a silane coupling agent as a filler in tread compounds can result in fuel savings of 3% to 4% compared to a tire having treads made from compounds with carbon black. This means a 20% reduction of the rolling resistance and consequently lower greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, rice is one of the most important food crops generating around 22% in weight of husk during its milling, a material that is m...