设在卡塔尔的得克萨斯农工大学(Texas A&M University)分校的一个由哈桑·巴兹(Hassan S.Bazzi)带领的科研小组，可能已经想出了一个用生物降解材料制造轮胎的方法。如果他们的创意可行，也许能帮助解决全球每年报废的大约10亿个轮胎所带来的各种问题。

 

几十年来，废弃的橡胶轮胎一直充斥着填埋场并让环境学家感到头疼。例如，到目前为止还不清楚轮胎降解需要多长时间。就算它们最终可以降解，轮胎中含有的一些有害化学物质也会渗入土壤。

 

得克萨斯农工大学的研究人员认识到，他们可以将环戊烯分子（一种炼油的副产品）用作制造聚戊烯橡胶(polypentenamer)的单体，这种橡胶类似于天然橡胶。

 

他们正在进行试验，研究新型合成橡胶是否可以与当今用于制造轮胎的其他材料与填料混合。

 

如果可行，研究人员或许能够发明一种和目前轮胎中所用的合成材料同样坚固的新型橡胶，但同时很容易进行生物降解及再利用。

 

该项目的首席科学家之一罗伯特·图巴(Robert Tuba)表示，他们的目标是创造一种“对社区和环境都有好处”的材料。研究人员们说，他们已有一个产业合作伙伴，并希望用生物降解橡胶制造的轮胎最终能上路行驶。

 

Riding on biodegradable rubber tires?

New research may give old tires a new, environmentally-friendly future.

 

A research team led by Hassan S. Bazzi, at the Texas A&M University campus in Qatar may have come up with a way to make tires with biodegradable materials. If they are right, they might be able to help solve the myriad problems that come with the estimated 1 billion tires that wear out each year worldwide.

 

Leftover rubber tires have been the bane of landfills — and environmentalists — for decades. It’s unclear, for example, how long it takes for tires to decompose. And if they do eventually decompose, the tires contain some nasty chemicals that can leach into the soil.

 

The Texas A&M researchers realized they could string cyclopentene molecules — a byproduct of oil refining — together to make polypentenamers, which are similar to natural rubber.

 

They are conducting experiments to see if the new synthetic rubber can be mixed with other materials and fillers that go into the modern tire.

 

If it works, the researchers might be able to create a new kind of rubber that is as strong as synthetics that are used in current tires, but that is easy to biodegrade and reuse.

 

Robert Tuba, one of the lead researchers on the project, says the goal was to create something “that is good for the community and the environment.” The researchers say they have an industry partner and hope the biodegradable rubber will eventually hit the road.