News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Pyrum Innovations AG (Pyrum), a pioneering company that recycles used tires sustainably with its globally patented unique pyrolysis technology, recently published its annual and consolidated financial statements for the 2022 financial year. According to Pyrum’s press release, the group achieved total output of EUR 19.1 million. This represents a significant increase compared to the same period in the previous year (2021: EUR 3.7 million). The main reason for this was the sharp increase in own work capitalized in the amount of EUR 17.8 million (2021: EUR 2.8 million) as part of the expansion of the main plant in Dilligen/Saar. At EUR 1.0 million, sales were slightly above the previous year's level (2021: EUR 0.9 million).

IMC Outdoor Living – a division of Liberty Tire Recycling, the premier provider of tire recycling services in North America, – announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Hebron, Ohio. IMC Outdoor Living produces rubber mulch, a resilient and sustainable alternative to traditional wood mulch, made from 100% recycled tires. The new Hebron facility located 30 miles east of Columbus, OH, includes 60,000 square feet for production and an additional 70,000 square feet of warehouse space to store and ship premium rubber mulch that is used for playground and landscape applications. The new facility will allow IMC Outdoor Living to expand its presence in the Midwest and focus on serving the region’s parks and recreation departments, schools, municipalities, and government agencies.

The BlackCycle consortium, in collaboration with CERTH, will be presenting an abstract at the European Congress on Catalysis (EuropaCat) in Prague, Czech Republic, from August 27th to September 1st, 2023. The abstract focuses on the systematic screening of conventional and hierarchical zeolites for the catalytic conversion of end-of-life tire pyrolysis vapors into aromatic compounds. The study is part of the EU project BlackCycle, which aims to develop a technology for recycling end-of-life tires into raw materials that can be used in the production of new tires.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has introduced a new tread formulation for its ElectricDrive GT tire, specifically designed for electric vehicles. The tire features a specialized tread compound that enhances all-season traction and incorporates Monolith carbon black produced through methane pyrolysis. Monolith is a global leader in commercial-scale carbon black and hydrogen production using the methane pyrolysis process. This collaboration between Monolith and Goodyear marks a significant step towards achieving zero-emissions carbon black in tire manufacturing.

The BlackCycle project has been focused on developing deconstruction technologies to recover the different rubber coming from very precise parts of the tyre. The objective is to enhance the quality of the recycled raw materials and add value for subsequent industrial processes such as granulation, pyrolysis, or micronization. After design studies and initial testing, two deconstruction technologies have been chosen: the Outside Rubber Cutting (ORC) for recovering tire treads from passenger cars and trucks, and the Inside Rubber Grinding (IRG) for extracting innerliners from truck tires. These machines incorporate groundbreaking technological solutions, enabling the treatment of tires from any brand and size with near full automation. Patents for the new detection technology and steering robots will be completed in 2023.

Building on the success of last edition of summit, ACI announced that the 3rd European Carbon Black Summit will take place on 14th on 15th June 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany. To register for the Summit, ACI offers a special 10% discount until the event's date to all Weibold’s subsribers available via the promo code “CCBe3MKTWeibold”. For further information or to register your attendance contact Rohan Baryah on rbaryah@acieu.net or +48 61 646 7022 quoting the promo code.

Birla Carbon – one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of high-quality carbon black solutions – has recently received the ISCC PLUS certification for its plant in Italy. The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a voluntary scheme that is applicable for the bioeconomy and circular economy for various sectors. All kinds of biomass, waste and residues, non-biological renewables, and recycled carbon materials can be certified under ISCC PLUS. This globally recognized certification is in line with Birla Carbon’s aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the successful introduction of ContinuaTM Sustainable Carbonaceous Material (SCM).

The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) releases program and opens registration, sponsorship, and exhibitor details for the 2023 Rubber Recycling Symposium which will take place on October 4-5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Full information including preliminary program-at-a-glance, details about individual registrations, hotel booking, as well as sponsor and exhibitor opportunities can be found through the main event page.

Researchers from the University of Arizona are collaborating with Bridgestone Americas Inc. to develop a sustainable and resilient variety of natural rubber. The project focuses on guayule, a perennial shrub that can be grown in the arid conditions of the U.S. Southwest. The five-year, $70 million project, with $35 million funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an equal match from Bridgestone, aims to transition growers from traditional crops to guayule. Partners in the project include the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Colorado State University, regional growers, and OpenET, a public-private partnership for responsible water management. Bridgestone has been working with guayule since 2012 and plans to expand its farm in Eloy to 20,000 acres, with a long-term goal of cultivating guayule on around 100,000 acres across the Southwest.