One of the first tire manufacturers in China to start recycling, reusing, and repurposing tires is ZC Rubber. In order to engage in rubber recycling and reuse tires, the company created its Recycling Technology and Service Center in 2005, which marked the beginning of its tire recycling adventure. To forward their goals for tire recycling, ZC Rubber formally created Zhongce Recycling Technology Co., Ltd in 2009.

In China, ZC Rubber is assuming a leading position in tire recycling. For many years, ZC Rubber has actively collaborated with national and international research organizations to create a more sustainable tire supply chain that reduces tires' lifetime environmental effect. Right now, the industry has a comprehensive recycling value chain that includes tire recycling, sorting, retreading, and pyrolysis.

According to its latest press communication, during the past 17 years ZC Rubber has recycled 400,000 tonnes of end-of-life tires (1.7 million units of tires), cutting carbon emissions by a total of 510,000 tonnes, which the manufacturer claims as the equivalent of planting 27.87 million trees.

In collaboration with Nanjing Lvjinren Rubber & Plastic High-tech Co, ZC Rubber has built an automatic reclaimed rubber production line with an annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of reclaimed rubber in 2020.

Zhongce Recycling Technology processed recovered rubber using cutting-edge equipment and an internationally recognized technique without creating any waste water or pollutants. Additionally, compared to the standard approach, the energy consumption per tonne is lowered by more than 20%.

Zhongce Recycling Technology will construct a manufacturing line in 2022 that can manufacture 7,500 tonnes of liquid recycled rubber every year. More than 98% of the pollutant-prone processing aids can be replaced by liquid recycled rubber, which considerably improves tire compound quality and lengthens tire life.

ZC Rubber is creating a circular recycling supply chain in collaboration with Zhejiang University to transform ELTs into high-quality raw materials including carbon black, pyrolysis oil, gas, or steel.

Pyrolysis oil can be utilized as a fuel oil within Zhongce Recycling Technology to produce carbon black. Pyrolysis carbon black can be used in place of ordinary carbon black after proper processing, and pyrolysis gas can generate power.

The tire pyrolysis processing line with a 5,000-tonne annual capacity will be established by ZC Rubber in 2022.

Press release by ZC Rubber.