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Michelin is inviting everyone interested in tire recycling and sustainability to take part in the first Workshop of the European BlackCycle project! The AXELERA cluster is a partner of the BlackCycle project, coordinated by Michelin, the objective of which is to create, develop and optimize a complete value chain for recycling end-of-life tires, in the form of material first to reduce the impact on the environment. This free workshop will be an opportunity to present the state of progress of the project but also to discuss with the stakeholders interested and involved in the creation of this value chain. The workshop will be held on November 22, 2021 at MICHELIN CAMPUS RDI in Cebazat, France. To attend the workshop, make sure to register before November 12.

State-of-the-art pyrolysis processes are an efficient, viable and sustainable approach for the valorisation of end-of-life tires (ELT) into oil, gas and recovered Carbon Black (rCB). They are thus an important step towards the transition to a low carbon, more sustainable, resource efficient, circular economy in line with the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The parties plan to complete the DFS by the end of June 2021 and anticipate the project being financed before the end of 2021, with construction taking place in 2022 and operations starting in 2023. It’s envisioned that with Klean’s intellectual property and know-how for the processing of scrap tires and its ability to apply its proven portfolio of IP on a global basis, starting with an operating tire recycling facility in Greece will shorten the project development cycle. This project is expected to transform end-of-life tires into high quality, valuable raw materials primarily a high grade recovered carbon black (“rCB”) and recovered fuel oil or what is known as pyrolysis oil akin to an MDO oil. This plant will be fully integrated with Klean’s proprietary tire char upgrading system that enables the economic conversion of low-value tire char into high-value carbon black replacements which can replace virgin Carbon Black by volumes of 10% up to 100% depending on the specific application. Klean estimates that the carbon emission offsets from the Pyrolysis Hellas facility will be in excess of 100,000 metric tons annually.

Despite hard efforts of the tire recycling and pyrolysis industry to develop new markets and increase recycling rates, recycled rubber based product markets demonstrate only moderate growth. To tackle the problem and allow thousands of tons of precious materials go back to consumer goods, numerous end-of-life tire management organizations, companies and research labs do their best to find new markets and develop innovative products out of scrap tire rubber.

According to expert opinion in the tire recycling industry, BlackCycle – the research project coordinated by Michelin – can revolutionize end-of-life tire recycling worldwide. This opinion was voiced by experts during a meeting of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) at its Tires & Rubber Committee on October 15, 2020. There was tangible excitement at the BIR Tyres & Rubber Committee webinar on October 15 following a guest presentation on the recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) into secondary raw materials for tires and other product applications.

Robert Weibold is speaking at the World Recycling Convention organized by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) on October 15, 2020. Mr. Weibold will take part in the session “Tyres & Rubber” which will be devoted to breakthrough technology projects to drive circular economy in ELT Recycling. Tyres & Rubber Committee eForum A dynamic BIR Tyres & Rubber Committee eForum earlier this year, in June, covered topics as diverse as COVID’s impact on world tire manufacturing and tire recycling markets, latest tire collection and processing data, benefits and barriers relating to pyrolysis, developments surrounding end-of-waste, and another emerging threat to producers of crumb rubber infill.

In its recent press release, Michelin says that the BlackCycle project is officially funded by the EU in May 2020. The BlackCycle project involves 13 organizations in a unique European public-private partnership that will demonstrate the technical, environmental, and economic viability of world-first circular processes. The consortium will develop specific solutions to produce sustainable raw materials for tires: ELT collection and feedstock selection, pyrolysis optimization, oil refining and valorization, furnace process optimization, and sustainable tire performance assessment. Michelin says that as early as 5-6 years after the project, close to 1 out of every 2 European ELTs will be incorporated into the only virtuous cycle of this magnitude amongst all industrial sectors for the recovery of end-of-life products.