Brisil Technologies and Lehmann&Voss&Co. sign agreement to evaluate commercialisation prospects of a silica filler derived from biomass.

The evaluation relates to elastomer applications and is limited to Europe.

The silica filler is "precipitated silica", which Brisil extracts from rice husk ash using a residue-optimised chemical process. The process was developed by Brisil and has already been patented.

Rice husk ash is produced during the combustion of rice husks. Brisil obtains this ash in close cooperation with companies that carry out the thermal utilisation of the rice husks. This creates a classic win-win situation, as the companies have a responsibility to dispose of their "biological waste" in an environmentally sound manner due to stricter environmental standards.  

The precipitated "green" silica is used as a filler in tyres, shoe soles, conveyor belts, cables, technical rubber articles, toothpaste, paints, varnishes and plastics, among other things.

Currently, there is a production plant in the Indian state of Gujarat with a capacity of 7,400 tonnes per year. Further production facilities in Asia are in the planning stage.

"Brisil is tackling one of the global problems of sustainable waste recycling. Due to their innovation, their technology has already received various national and international awards and recognition. We are very pleased to be able to present the products both at the German Rubber Conference in Nuremberg in June 2022, and at K 2022 in Düsseldorf in October. They are an important part of our new orientation "LUVOMAXX® goes greener" says Robert Zeppelin, Business Unit Director of the Lehmann&Voss&Co. business unit LUVOMAXX®.

Founded by a chemical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT BHU Varanasi), Brisil comprises a team of experienced IIT graduates who have decades of experience in the chemical and materials industry as well as in technology development and commercialisation.