# LCA as a Tool for the Environmental Management of Car Tire Manufacturing
## 2 Life Cycle of a Car Tires  
### The Production Stage  
The design of a modern car tire is an intricate and complex structural process that combines a number of rubber, steel, and textile elements. Each of these materials displays different characteristics that impart a specifically selected set of properties, e.g., shape, stiffness, strength, vibration damping, heat, and electrostatic charges dissipation [5]. Each manufactured tire is expected to perform according to the design specifications; hence, the choice and quality of materials are equally important as the manufacturing technology. Tires are elements that play an absolutely critical role in ensuring the safety of the driver and passengers, which is why it is essential that their production process is performed in accordance with applicable requirements and the product undergoes specialist tests [6]. The product damage in manufacturing usually occurs at the interface of two heterogeneous materials and is categorized as inner, outer, sidewall, tread face, or shoulder damage [7]. The tire is a system combining up to 20 different basic and supplementary elements that affect car handling. The components of the tire are shown in Table 1. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Component** & **Material** & **Description** & **Occurrence** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Inner liner**} & \multirow{3}{*}{Synthetic butyl rubber} & High resistance to acids, bases, and oxidizing agents. Minimizes air loss and protects inner components against water and oxygen. & Traditional and the ecological tire \\ \cline{3-4}  & & The skeleton that allows the tire to & \\ \cline{3-4}  & & A textile fabric consisting of & maintain the shape under internal loads. & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \cline{3-4}  & & threads & It transfers loads during acceleration, braking, and turning. & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Read wires**} & \multirow{3}{*}{A rubber-coated wire bundle} & It ensures a proper and tight fit of the tire & \\ \cline{3-4}  & & on the rim. Owing to friction, it transmits & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Filler**} & \multirow{3}{*}{Synthetic rubber} & Provides high sidewall stiffness, driving comfort, manageable/, and durability of the tire. & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \cline{3-4}  & & & It guarantees tire durability and tightness, separates the wire from the rim. & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Sidewall**} & \multirow{3}{*}{The rubber compound containing anti-age agents} & Provides tire protection. Protects it & \\ \cline{3-4}  & & against crafting and environmental factors & Traditional and ecological tire \\ \cline{3-4}  & & agents & (UV radiation, temperature variations, chemical compounds). & Traditional tire \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Belts**} & \multirow{3}{*}{Rubber-coated steel cords} & Provides strength to the tire. Stabilizes the tread, prevents deep damage to the carcass, greatly reduces rolling resistance. & Traditional tire \\ \cline{3-4}  & & & It deals, prevents deep damage to the carcass, greatly reduces rolling resistance. & Ecological tire \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Tread**} & \multirow{3}{*}{Main component of mixture is soot} & Ensures maneuverability, optimal grip & \\ \cline{3-4}  & & and highest wear resistance, the key to & Traditional tire \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}  & & Main component of mixture is silica & noise level reduction, and rolling resistance. & Ecological tire \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Most important components of a car tire [8; 9]. Depending on the class of the tire, it is reinforced with a range of supplementary elements, including insulation inserts, zero-degree belt, chafer strip, bead reinforcements, insolation bundle, sidewall reinforcement, and undertread [10; 11]. After the designing, documentation, and prototyping stages, the tire components are prepared.