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The European Rubber Journal reports that Cabot Corp. – a renowned global producer of carbon black – has seen a significant rise in its second quarter results. The magazine says Cabot “expects the robust and broad-based demand to continue in the second half of the year.” ERJ hightlights that for Cabot, “this has been the second consecutive quarter of record earnings (EBIT) within its Reinforcement Materials segment, which includes the production of rubber carbon black materials.” According to Cabot’s announcement from May 3, 2021, the segment’s earnings rose by 45%, i.e. to $81 million within the first quarter of 2021.

The innovation forum "Scrap Tire Recycling" (AZuR) sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany recently published a large-scale study for its partners. The study is focused on the market positions and requirements of end-of-life tire recyclers and manufacturers of products from recycled tire rubber. Below, we are citing the original article published on the website of AZuR in May 2021. To read the original text in German, please proceed to AZuR’s website.

Dubbed as “a must-attend event for those with an interest in the rCB sector”, the Recovered Carbon Black Workshop is organized by Martin von Wolfersdoff – a renowned consultant in the field of carbon black – and Smithers. The online event is scheduled for June 3, 2021 (1pm BST / 2pm CEST / 8am EDT). The official workshop name is “Recovered Carbon Black Online Workshop: Increasing rCB volume in the tire supply chain - challenges and opportunities”. The workshop will be led Martin von Wolfersdorff and will provide an exclusive opportunity for the entire value chain to find out more about and discuss the following topics:

MotoE is a racing series for electric motorcycles that is being held for the third year. Michelin is the supplier of tires to the race participants and, ahead of this year’s season, has produced a tire that has significantly less environmental impact due to its high content of recycled materials, including recovered carbon black supplied by Enviro. According to Michelin, tests during the spring showed that the new and more sustainable tires contribute to shorter lap times, while they also heat up more quickly, with improved grip as a result.

Episode 23 of the Tyre Recycling Podcast features the CEO of Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) – a Swedish tire pyrolysis operator and equipment supplier. Thomas Sörensson spoke about the collaboration with Michelin, Enviro’s strong position and potential in the market and the expansion plans ahead. Enviro is a Swedish award-winning tire pyrolysis operator and equipment supplier who recently entered a partnership agreement with Michelin.

The German online magazine “Recycling Magazine” reports about a new generation of asphalt that recycles 10 used tires into every ton of the road surfacing product. The product is being laid on Gold Coast streets in a world-first trial, the magazine says. The innovative rubberized asphalt which uses recycled end-of-life tires, known as Carbonmastic, developed by Australian companies Austek Asphalt Production and Pearl Global, could potentially lead to millions of tyres each year being redirected from landfill.

According to recent media release, Rice University lab’s optimized flash process could reduce carbon emissions, which could be be where the rubber truly hits the road. Rice University scientists have optimized a process to convert waste from end-of-life rubber and tires into graphene that can, in turn, be used to strengthen concrete. The environmental benefits of adding graphene to concrete are clear, chemist James Tour says. “Concrete is the most-produced material in the world, and simply making it produces as much as 9% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions,” Tour said. “If we can use less concrete in our roads, buildings and bridges, we can eliminate some of the emissions at the very start.”

The advantages of pyrolysis to tackle the world's growing disposal problem with end-of-life tires (ELT) in terms of a circular economy were described extensively in the last decade. Pyrolysis is a thermal process that converts organic rubber material into low molecular weight compounds such as pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil and raw recovered Carbon Black (ASTM 8178-20a). In contrast to the incineration of ELT, which is often condescendingly referred to as "thermal recycling" or „waste-to-energy“, pyrolysis does not destroy any raw materials, but breaks down the waste product into its chemical raw material components and makes them available for the circular economy. Fortunately, this is in the meantime confirmed by the great demand from the chemical industry for products from ELT pyrolysis.

On March 10, 2021, Black Bear Carbon, the innovative company that recovers carbon black, oil and gas from end-of-life tire granulate, has announced in its press release its intention to build a factory at the Chemelot industrial park in Geleen. A previous factory in Nederweert, in a joint venture with tire recycler Kargro, was dismantled after a fire in February 2019. After an intensive period of two years, Black Bear Carbon is living up to its reputation as a technology pioneer with the development of a best-in-class factory in terms of process, safety and reliability. At the end of 2019, Black Bear Carbon announced that it was going to Rotterdam and made an energetic start towards that goal in 2020. In the course of 2020, timely realization of RCBNL turned out to be difficult to achieve due to the issue regarding nitrogen deposition rights. In close collaboration with Chemelot, the BBC has looked at the alternatives and decided to settle in the south of Limburg province.