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How far have we developed eco-friendly tyres alternatives?

Engineering Asked by talkingpandas on January 8, 2021

Considering how bad rubber tires is for environment (Microplastic on tyre – NatGeo),

Today tires consist of about 19 percent natural rubber and 24 percent synthetic rubber, which is a plastic polymer. The rest is made up of metal and other compounds. Producing tires still has monumental environmental impacts, ranging from continued deforestation to the climate-harming fossil fuels used to make synthetic rubbers to the assembly process. Modern car tires require about 7 gallons of oil to make, while truck tires take 22 gallons

A 2013 report by Tire Steward Manitoba, in Canada, found that
passenger light truck tires lost nearly 2.5 pounds of rubber during
their service life (average of 6.33 years). The Kohl study found that
Americans produce the most tire wear per capita and estimates that,
overall, tires in the U.S. alone produce about 1.8 million tons of
microplastics each year.

Exactly how much of that waste ends up in waterways depends on many
factors, says Sousa, ranging from where the road is located to the
weather; rain, for example, can cause more particles to flow into the
environment. Research into the topic is relatively new, he notes, so
estimates will improve as more work is done. But with millions of
vehicles traveling the streets every day, he says, “you start to have
a grim idea about the amount of tire (particles) released.”

How far have we developed eco-friendly tyres alternatives?

Would metal mesh like what NASA have on their rover (nitinol tyre) would be answer to this?

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Considering it’s airless, strong, and lightweight characteristic, while still fully recycleable in a closed loop

The only downside is the cost. But might could be replaced with steel-variant mesh

Not sure about comfortability & high speed noise & vibration though

What do you think?

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