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Just in February 2023, the Joint Research Council (JRC) of the European Commission [1] published their study results on the environmental and economic factors of chemical recycling (pyrolysis) and energy recovery of end-of-life tires (ELT). The result of this study in advance: chemical recycling via ELT pyrolysis - including mechanical recycling for feedstock processing - is a more sustainable option for managing ELTs than energy recovery via incineration. Revisiting a decades-old knowledge Already in 2010, a much-cited Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) found pyrolysis to be the most eco-effective ELT treatment technology, followed by dynamic devulcanization and ambient grinding. [2] These results were confirmed in 2015 by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study showing that substituting primary resources with pyrolysis products from ELTs provides significant environmental savings. [3]

Scrap tires go through numerous recycling processes before they become new tires. A distinction is made between material recycling (sorting, separating and granulating), raw material recycling (e.g., pyrolysis process) and chemical recycling as the final finishing step of pyrolysis worldwide. As an integrated solution provider with over 40 years of experience in the tire industry, Zeppelin Systems collaborates with international partners in all aspects of scrap tire recycling. The German company RCB Nanotechnologies specializes in the finishing of raw-recovered carbon black. The company thus perfectly complements Zeppelin Systems' wide range of services throughout the sustainable circular economy for the tire industry.

Learn about the developments of chemical recycling and how it works for artificial turf at the upcoming online webinar by Synthetic Turf Council (STC): Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023 Time: 11:00 AM (EST), UTC -5 Environmental responsibility is an important issue for the turf industry and it is critical to stay informed about the latest advancements. In this webinar, STC takes a closer look at the process of chemical recycling and uncover the opportunities and challenges it presents for end-of-life turf.

The best available technology (BAT) is the technology approved by legislators or regulators for meeting output standards for a particular process. BAT for a given industrial sector is described in reference documents called BREFs (Best Available Techniques Reference documents). BREFs are the result of an exchange of information between European Union Member States, the industries concerned, non-governmental organizations promoting environmental protection and the European Commission. This exchange of information is referred to as the Sevilla process because it is steered within the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commissions' Joint Research Centre, which is based in Seville. The process is codified into law by Commission Implementing Decisions. The most important chapter of the BREFs, the BAT conclusions, are published as implementing decisions of the European Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union. According to the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), the BAT conclusions shall be the reference for setting permit conditions of (large) industrial installations.

Pyrum Innovations AG (Pyrum), a pioneer in the sustainable recycling of end-of-life tires (ELT) based on its patented pyrolysis technology, and Polyfuels Group AB intend to jointly build and operate four pyrolysis plants as part of a joint venture. Both companies have agreed on this in a letter of intent (LOI). The plants will be based on Pyrum technology and will be realised by Circular Tires AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Polyfuels. Polyfuels Group AB is engaged in the collection and recycling of plastics, mixed plastics – both from industry and consumers - and chemical recycling projects with industrial partners.

Chemical recycling is an emerging theme in waste management which has the potential to contribute to a low carbon, resource efficient and sustainable economy. In enabling the use of carbonaceous waste as secondary carbon feedstock to replace fossil resources to produce organic chemicals, it could support efforts to transit carbon intensive industries from the linear to a circular carbon economy. A sustainable society with climate-neutral processes requires significant adjustments in the value chains, which are only possible through innovations. In the “Waste4Future” lighthouse project, seven institutions of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany) are pooling their expertise to develop new solutions for this goal, from the raw material basis to material flows and process engineering to the end of a product’s life cycle. They aim to increase energy and resource efficiency when using plastics and thus pave the way for a chemical industry that requires fewer fossil raw materials and causes fewer emissions.

To harmonise enforcement in each EU Member State and check the current level of compliance regarding obligations imposed on industry by the REACH, CLP and PIC regulations, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) installed a forum which coordinates various enforcement projects. One of the main projects are the REACH-EN-FORCE (REF) projects. The REF-projects are carried out by inspectors based in the national authorities in the participating Member States. The resulting information is collected by ECHA and the Forum Working Group. A final report on the findings of the REF-project is then produced. Ultimately, the goal of the REF-projects is to improve the quality of enforcement in the Member States but also to improve the compliance of registrants with the REACH, CLP, and PIC regulations.

Faced with millions of end-of-life tyres in landfill or openly dumped, the Gulf States are developing individual strategies to deal with the waste stream including a growing interest in pyrolysis… The meeting was kicked off by Committee Chairman Max Craipeau of Greencore Resources in China who wondered if “there’s ever been a better time” for tyre recycling. Investors were taking a much closer interest in the sector, especially because of the increasing concern from customers for greater sustainability. “Circularity is finally a reality for the tyre and rubber industry,” he said, referring to chemical recycling such as pyrolysis. “We have always been the poor relative in the recycling industry – because for a long time there was no circularity, as with metals which can be recycled infinitely. “Materials that weren’t necessarily sustainable from a chemical recycling point of view are becoming more and more sustainable thanks to growing demand.”

Pyrum Innovations AG (Pyrum) reports in its press release it won the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2022 together with BASF SE, Mercedes-Benz AG and WITTE Automotive GmbH. The jury honoured the four companies with the Best of Award in the Material category for the innovative new door handles of the Mercedes S-Class and the EQE, in the production of which fossil raw materials are replaced by biomethane and pyrolysis oil from recycled end-of-life tyres (ELT). Together, this closes the cycle of recyclable materials and actively promotes the development of innovative recycling processes, Pyrum says.