Michelin runs on methane
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MICHELIN has been contributing to energy conservation in subtle ways for nearly 30 years. Compared with the cross-ply cover, the radial tyre, introduced in Britain in the early fifties, saves fuel by reducing rolling resistance and, through its longer life, economises in materials, notably the oil employed in making synthetic rubber.
The latest development in conservation is the use of methane from the coal seams of North Staffordshire collieries to fire two of the boilers at the Stoke-on-Trent factory. Michelin will take some 6m therms — equal to 24,000 tonnes of coal — a year through a mile-long pipeline from the grid.
Energy costs at the plant will ultimately be reduced, apart from which large amounts of natural gas have been released to other consumers who have five-figure incomes to pay for it.