Two tire projects included in China MOT’s low-carbon demonstration program

China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) recently unveiled a list of 30 green and low-carbon demonstration projects, including two tire application projects in Jiangxi province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The application of wide tires in Jiangxi has a special significance in exploring an energy-efficient mode for the operation of heavy-duty container vehicles.

Different from the old-school operation mode of using double tires, the use of wide tires in heavy-duty vehicles could save some 5,600 liters of fuel per vehicle every year, assuming a heavy-duty vehicle travels 200,000 km annually on average.

If fuel costs are set at 7.6 yuan per liter, the use of wide tires could save some 42,560 yuan per vehicle every year.

The comprehensive application of scrap tires in Guangxi refers to new technologies to recycle scrap tires and make rubber-powder modified asphalt and new materials like fiber concrete and electgrically-conducive concrete out of the rubber wastes.

According to a source familiar with the project, the technologies have been successfully put into application in Guangxi since 2010.

Altogether some 26,600 metric tons (tonnes) of rubber asphalt and 5,000 tonnes of scrap tire rubber powder have been put into use on the Longlin-Baise Highway and Qinzhou-Chongzuo Highway by far, with a total length of about 250 km by far.

(Edited by Olivia, olivia@tireworld.com.cn)