Bridgestone dedicates guayule R&D center

Bridgestone said it expects to produce its first samples of guayule NR at the center this fall, with pilot-scale production beginning in early 2015. “We're talking tens of pounds of rubber a day, not hundreds or thousands,” Mr. Niaura said.

Bridgestone broke ground on the 10-acre research complex in May 2013, two years after the company announced its intention to launch a research initiative to diversify the world's sources of natural rubber.

The company did not disclose its investment in the facility.

Commercializing guayule fits perfectly into Bridgestone's corporate goal of manufacturing products from fully renewable and sustainable raw materials, Mr. Niaura said.

Biodiversity plays a major role in Bridgestone's long-term plans for sourcing NR and other raw materials, Mr. Niaura said. Hevea brasiliensis is the world's only source of natural rubber, and 97 percent of it comes from Southeast Asia. Market fluctuations, embargoes and diseases such as leaf blight are constant concerns with Hevea, he said.

But biodiversity and sustainability alone are not enough, according to Mr. Niaura. “The challenge is to keep the performance,” he said. “We seek better performance, both for manufacturing facilities and for end-users.”

Bridgestone plans further scaling-up of the plant in 2016, on the way to planned full commercialization of guayule in the early 2020s, Mr. Niaura said.

The new center works hand-in-hand with Bridgestone's 281-acre Agro Operation Guayule Research Farm in Eloy, Ariz., which opened last fall.

 The research farm has four goals:   • To improve the genetics of guayule;

   • To develop best growing and cultivation practices for guayule;

   • To supply guayule biomass to the research center in Mesa; and

   • To develop working relationships with independent farmers in an effort to compete    effectively with other crops.

The complex is staffed for now by 30 researchers and technicians. On site are four structures: an 8,300-sq.-ft. single-story office and laboratory building; a four-platform, 3,500-sq.-ft. shrub prep building; a 5,500-sq.-ft. two-level process building for rubber extraction, co-product and solvent recycling; and a 3,100-sq.-ft. mechanical and electrical building.

The center was designed by Wadsworth, Ohio-based architectural firm Louis Perry & Associates Inc. and was built with advanced materials from Bridgestone's Firestone Building Products subsidiary, which contribute to energy efficiency.