Silica has been used in rubber industry since the 1950s and is widely used in areas such as automobile tires, conveyor belts, rubber ball bearings, colored rubber, and especially in the production of shoe soles.
In the shoe sole manufacturing industry, people use a variety of materials, most commonly rubber, TPR, EVA or fabric. The sole components of the shoe are then glued together or stitched with thread.
Compared with commonly used shoe soles materials, rubber soles are still popular and have many advantages. When adding Nano Silica into rubber, shoe sole has many advantages such as easy to combine with other functional materials, softer and tougher surface and more comfortable experience. In addition, the use of Nano Silica as a reinforcing agent in the rubber shoe sole increases mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tear strength, abrasion resistance, hardness and heat resistance.
With the successful development of Nano Silica from rice husk by BSB Nanotech under the brand Biosilico, Bio-based Nano Silica generates more value in terms of sustainability. This is considered a source of green and renewable material. Biosilico products also offers many outstanding features such as hydrophobic to improve slip resistance while making shoes lighter. After a long testing period, European partners confirmed these superior properties of Nano Silica developed by BSB Nanotech, opening up a new potential development direction for Nano Silica from rice husk.
Currently, Biosilico is making plans to mass produce Bio-based Nano Silica products from rice husks for rubber shoe sole applications. Biosilico products meet export standards to the European market.