倍耐力稻壳白炭黑

SILICA FROM RICE HUSKS

稻壳白炭黑

Silica is used in tyres to reduce rolling resistance, improving vehicle efficiency without reducing its road hold, especially under wet conditions. In its research on ever-more sustainable materials, Pirelli has concentrated on this raw material by seeking an alternative source for traditional processing methods.

二氧化硅用于轮胎中，以降低滚动阻力，提高车辆效率，而不会降低其路面保持力，尤其是在潮湿条件下。在对越来越多的可持续材料的研究中，倍耐力一直在通过寻找传统加工方法的替代来源来专注于这种原材料。

The Group has developed a process at its plant in Santa Catarina, a renowned rice producing centre in southern Brazil, which can extract silica from rice husks. Rice husks are the external shell of the rice grain. Rice husks account for 20% of the weight of raw rice, and represent the principal scrap material of rice processing. Given the volume of global rice production, rice husks are available in huge quantities in many areas of the world. Rice husks already have many applications that are more or less sophisticated: from bedding for livestock to organic fertilizer, to solid fuel for electric power generation. In fact, rice husks have a significant energy content, amounting to 14 MJ/ kg. However, it is not yet appreciated in less developed areas of the world, and is burned in the field without exploiting its potential.

该集团已在其位于巴西南部著名的大米生产中心Santa Catarina州的工厂开发了一种工艺，该工艺可从稻壳中提取二氧化硅。稻壳是稻谷的外壳。稻壳占生米重量的20％，是稻米加工的主要废料。鉴于全球大米产量，世界许多地区都有大量稻壳。稻壳已经具有许多或多或少复杂的应用：从牲畜垫料到有机肥料，再到用于发电的固体燃料。实际上，稻壳具有很高的能量含量，达14 MJ / kg。但是，它在世界上欠发达的地区尚未得到认可，并且在田野中燃烧而未开发其潜力。

Aside from its interesting level of energy content, rice husks have another exploitable property, represented by its high silica content, which accounts for about 18% of its weight. In the traditional process, silica is made with a chemical process where crystalline silica, typically sand, is dissolved in a solution of water and caustic soda (NaOH). The result of this first step in the process is sodium silicate. Then an acid is added (typically sulphuric acid) to obtain silica precipitate as the principal product and sodium sulphate as the by-product. The reaction of crystalline silica with caustic soda requires a huge amount of thermal energy. But when rice husks are burned, the resulting ash is composed of non-crystalline silica that has a maximum residual carbon content of 8%. Compared with crystalline silica, this silica requires much less energy in the initial reaction. It is easy to imagine that this biomass may thus constitute an ideal raw material for the production of silica precipitate. All the thermal energy necessary for production can be generated if the rice husks are burned in the right way, and, at the same time, the non-crystalline silica reacts at far lower temperatures than in the traditional method.

除了其有趣的能量含量水平外，稻壳还具有另一种可利用的特性，其高二氧化硅含量占其重量的18％。在传统方法中，二氧化硅是通过化学方法制得的，其中结晶的二氧化硅（通常是沙子）溶解在水和苛性钠（NaOH）的溶液中。该过程中第一步的结果是硅酸钠。然后加入酸（通常为硫酸）以获得二氧化硅沉淀为主要产物，硫酸钠为副产物。结晶二氧化硅与苛性钠的反应需要大量的热能。但是，当稻壳燃烧时，产生的灰分是由非晶硅组成的，其最大残留碳含量为8％。与结晶二氧化硅相比，这种二氧化硅在初始反应中所需的能量要少得多。不难想象，这种生物质因此可以构成生产二氧化硅沉淀物的理想原料。如果以正确的方式燃烧稻壳，就可以产生生产所需的全部热能，同时，非晶态二氧化硅的反应温度要比传统方法低得多。

Since the production process is thermally self-sufficient, the production of silica from rice husks not only allows energy recovery but also a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, precisely because all the necessary thermal energy is derived from the combustion of renewable biomass. This processing activity has been included in the research project being conducted in collaboration with the Italian Environment Ministry.

由于生产过程是热自给自足的，因此从稻壳生产二氧化硅不仅可以回收能量，而且还可以显着减少CO2排放，这恰恰是因为所有必需的热能都来自可再生生物质的燃烧。该处理活动已包括在与意大利环境部合作开展的研究项目中。

More information about this project may be found in the section “Relations with Institutions and Public Administrations”, in the Social Dimension chapter of this Report. Initial analyses show that this process offers a great advantage in terms of carbon footprint. Pirelli silica made from rice husks can reduce the carbon footprint by over 90% as compared with silica made with traditional processing techniques.

有关此项目的更多信息，请参见本报告“社会层面”一章中的“与机构和公共行政部门的关系”部分。初步分析表明，此过程在碳足迹方面具有巨大优势。与传统加工技术制成的二氧化硅相比，用稻壳制成的倍耐力二氧化硅可以减少90％以上的碳足迹。

The production of silica from rice husks by Pirelli stands as a clear example of how innovations in the area of materials can be totally sustainable, contributing both to the exploitation of by-products that would otherwise be only partially reused, and the eco-sustainability of production processes. All of these benefits are accompanied by economic advantages that can be immediately related to the efficiency of the process.

倍耐力用稻壳生产二氧化硅是一个明显的例子，充分说明了材料领域的创新是如何完全可持续的，这有助于副产品的开发，否则副产品只能部分再利用，并且生产过程的生态可持续性也很高。所有这些好处都伴随着可以直接与过程效率相关的经济优势。

This project was also reported in one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world, The Economist, at the beginning of 2013. In an article dedicated to Pirelli, this periodical mentioned the environmental benefits resulting from use of a substance obtained from renewable sources. Pirelli has set itself the target of extending the use of silica obtained from rice husks to premium tyres by 2017.

2013年初，世界上最负盛名的报纸之一《经济学人》也对该项目进行了报道。在倍耐力的一篇文章中，该期刊提到了使用可再生资源所产生的物质所带来的环境效益。倍耐力设定了自己的目标，即到2017年将稻壳获得的二氧化硅的使用范围扩大到高级轮胎。