Saudi researchers make progress on renewable rubber made from ethanol

In Saudi Arabia, a key ingredient in the manufacture of car tires and sneaker soles could be made sustainably, following new analysis of an old catalytic process. Butadiene, an essential component of synthetic rubber, is currently produced by the petrochemical industry from fossil reserves.

But it could be efficiently made in a one-step reaction from renewable ethanol using a modernized version of an unusual old catalyst.

Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology used solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study silica-magnesia catalyst formation under real wet kneading conditions.