Sodium Carbonate & Silicate: key ingredients in “green tire” production

The applications of our products contribute to some of the following 17 United Nations SDGs.

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

What is a green tire?

Also known as “low rolling resistance tires”, green tires are above all tires that consume less fuel thanks to the use of a key component: silica.

The green tire is equipped with a special rubber, softer than that the one used for conventional tires. To produce this “green” rubber, a significant part of the black carbon is replaced by a specific silica, which reduces the coefficient of friction of green tires on the road and therefore the rolling resistance. This is an important detail considering that rolling resistance is responsible for more than 30% of fuel consumption and is the cause of tire wear.

The green tire is therefore an essential element in reducing the pollution caused by traffic as well as tire consumption.

What is Seqens’ contribution?

We are not producers of green tires, but we do make a significant contribution. We manufacture sodium carbonate at the Seqens Mineral Specialties site in La Madeleine (Novacarb), which is used in the composition of our sodium silicate, known as “Vitreous”, which we used to produce at the Seqens Mineral Specialties site in Nogent l’Artaud. We sell this product to producers of this famous silica for “green” tires.

According to some studies, equipping all cars with these “green” tires would save up to 20 billion liters of fuel and reduce global CO2 emissions by 50 million tons. Another major advantage is that it would also allow cars to travel more than 10% more kilometers. 

By producing and selling its glassy silicate on the green tire market, our Seqens Mineral Specialties division is making a concrete contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal N°13.