Scientists from USA find a way to recycle food waste for automotive use

A group of chemists from Ohio, USA, discovered that food waste could potentially be useful in the car manufacturing process. For instance, ground eggshells and tomato peels are durable enough to warrant their use in producing engine mount brackets, suspension bushings, hoses and tires.

The researchers found that the eggshells and the tomato peels could serve as a viable replacement for the carbon black routinely employed in modern production of rubber and plastics. Right now, manufacturers source carbon black from oil products, and the process is highly expensive. In turn, usable food waste just gets discarded. Therefore, the group concluded, using biomaterials in the automotive industry could be profitable both in terms of production costs and environment preservation.

The first experimental car parts have already been produced using the above described method, and the researchers are currently looking for ways to make them as reliable as their traditional counterparts.

The idea of using recyclable organics in the car industry goes all the way back to the mid-20th century. In 1941, Henry Ford designed and built a car with a body made out of wheat, beans and hemp fiber. You may have a look at it in our gallery.