WOOSTER, Ohio—Eggshells and other food waste may be the next phase of sustainable manufacturing practices for the tire and rubber product industry, as a replacement for carbon black.
Scientists at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at the Ohio State University-Wooster Campus are conducting research into eggshells and tomato peels as locally sourced and naturally occurring substitutes for carbon black.
So far the results are very encouraging, according to Katrina Cornish, Ohio research scholar and endowed chair in bio-emergent materials at Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Services.
Cornish, who also directs research at OARDC into dandelions as a source of natural rubber, said her research into carbon black alternatives began in 2010, the year she arrived at the university.
Local sourcing is very important to the carbon black alternative project, according to Cornish.
"In Ohio, we serve the public, and Ohio is big in agriculture and food processing," she said.
Using eggshells and tomato peels as substitutes for carbon black offers three potential benefits, according to Cornish:
- Reducing petroleum dependency;
- Increasing sustainability in the manufacture and tires and rubber products; and
- Keeping food waste out of landfills.