“Infinite” tires and NASA technology are arriving

“Infinite” tires, subject to punctures or wear, which perfectly copes with different seasonal needs and is environmentally friendly. The announcement was made by two American entrepreneurs, who created revolutionary tires inspired by the technology of the American space agency, NASA. The global market launch, Brian Yennie and Earl Cole say, is planned for June 2024. Punctures, tire changes and spare wheels/tyres will therefore be a faded memory. tires, markings Smart Tire Company, are intended to revolutionize the lives of motorists, and despite representing a threat to some professionals in the sector, they promise to significantly reduce environmental damage due to the proper disposal of old tires. “Eternal” wheels, as they have been named by the international media, are not subject to normal deterioration, because they are inspired by the wheels used on NASA’s rovers.

If it works on Mars it will work well on Earth too

Tires “Metl”, “airless”, are based on frame memory. Thanks to this technology, they are able to fully adapt to differences in shape, pressure and external conditions of the environment. You can face any kind of asphalt, even beaten, or dirt: the performance will not be affected. Tires wear, but this will be less compared to a “traditional” tire. From the Smart Tire Company, located in Ohio, they say that the shipment of the first tires will begin in June 2024, but it is already possible to buy at a price of 450 euros per pair. There is also the option of extra luxury tires, covered in aluminum and carbon fiber, but for these you will be willing to pay a premium.

Conventional tires are a real problem for the environment

Although this fact is not well known to many drivers, conventional tires are an environmental problem. The particles released by tires into the air can be 1,000 times more polluting than those from exhaust fumes. The problem is more important at this time. The greater weight of new-generation vehicles, such as full-electric hybrids and plug-ins, actually entails greater stress on the tires compared to that caused by vehicles powered by traditional diesel and gasoline engines, and therefore more particulate emissions. dangerous.

Today, traditional tires consist of 19 percent natural rubber (extracted from the Hevea brasiliensis plant species) and 24 percent synthetic rubber (a plastic polymer). The rest of the tire is made up of metal and other materials (mostly textile fibers such as rayon, nylon and polyester). The production of car tires requires 25 liters of oil, while truck tires require even more than 80. As tires work, they inevitably wear out, littering the streets – be it city or country – with small pieces of plastic that also pollute waterways.

Tire disposal

And the situation becomes worse when the tires have finished their “run” and need to be replaced. Once delivered to your trusted tire dealer, the tires change their name to “end of tires”, or more simply “ELTs”. Most of these are recycled, but what happens to the rest? The waste is converted and used to make flooring for playgrounds, sports surfaces and building materials. There United States Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) claims that recycling of tires has gone from 11 percent in 1990 to 81 percent in 2017 (a negligible percentage – around 59 percent – is burned to generate energy). And others? Tires that are neither recycled nor burned, about 18 percent of the total, end up in landfills (2018 USTMA data). In our country things are a little better. In 2020, there were many ELTs discarded: more than 200 thousand tons. Of these, 41 percent were replaced and raw materials were recovered and reused (more than 60 thousand tons of rubber, 19 thousand tons of steel and almost 2000 tons of textile fibers ). The remainder was sent to waste-to-energy plants, in most cases in cement factories. The data makes us understand that much still needs to be done for the environment, and perhaps the idea of ​​”endless” tires can represent a clear solution to the problem.