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The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) recently releasedd the Natural Rubber Trends, September 2021. ANRPC’s outlook for world natural rubber (NR) has been revised downward as member governments updated its figures for 2021. According to the Association, the lower growth anticipated in world production at 1.4% amounting to 13.787 million tons; while the world demand expects 8.9% growth to 14.116 million tonnes during 2021. Some downward adjustments made by member governments in their latest estimates. ANRPC says despite the positive market fundamental in the NR market, the prices of NR in physical and futures market have been bearish in September 2021 as compared to previous month. The average of FOB price in block rubber market have posted a contraction of 5% in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur market. While price deviation between RSS-3 in Bangkok and RSS-4 in Kottayam has reduced from US$0.60 per kg to US$0.52 per kg towards the end of the month. Both markets also posted a lower average price during this same reference period.

GRI Specialty Tires recently announced that its new tire model “Ultimate Green XT” became “one of the most environmentally friendly solid tires in the world.” The manufacturer says the new product is a premium-plus solid tire that goes beyond the norm to provide the ultimate in performance, sustainability, and efficiency. Powerful and robust, this tire epitomizes GRI's advanced engineering, research, development and manufacturing capabilities. The company said the tire contains 42.8% sustainable materials, which include bio-sourced and recycled materials. The tire is built with natural rubber silica, recovered carbon black and reclaimed rubber from end-of-life tires.

Both physical and futures NR markets have posted downward price trends during August 2021. Despite such downward trends, the average FOB price in block rubber market have improved this month. The average FOB price of STR-20 rose US$0.11 per kg to US$1.72 per kg, while the SMR-20 price improved US$0.09 per kg to US$1.73 per kg during the reference period. The same observations also shared in rubber sheet markets, however the price deviation between RSS-3 in Bangkok and RSS-4 in Kottayam have widened further approximately US$0.60 per kg during August 2021 as compared to US$0.50 per kg recorded in July 2021.

REVYRE Australia and New Zealand have stepped up a gear in the waste tire sector, raising capital and partnering with Project Portfolio Management P/L (PPM).The MOU with PPM brings a highly capable team with the right values, project management and operational capabilities in the mining and heavy industrial sectors to support REVYRE accelerate and realize our strategy. Last year, InfraCo and Energy Estate announced the REVYRE joint venture – a partnership dedicated to addressing the global End-of-Life Tyre (ELT) disposal problem. Since then, significant progress has been made for REVYRE’s first Facilities in both countries and gaining support from potential feedstock providers.

On September 6, 2021, Continental reported it is unveiling its innovative Conti GreenConcept tire concept at this year’s IAA MOBILITY. This conceptual study by the premium tire manufacturer leverages both current and emerging technological approaches to the engineering of sustainable tires for passenger cars, as yet another example of Continental’s wide-ranging activities in pursuit of sustainability. The goal of Continental’s integrative and sustainable concept: minimizing resource consumption across every link in the tire’s value chain. As such, the study addressed everything from the sourcing and procurement of raw materials on to the various stages of production and even on up to ways of extending the tire’s service life. Continental’s development engineers and materials experts rose to the occasion and found novel solutions to each of these three challenges. The result: a tire that consists of a particularly high percentage of traceable, renewable, and recycled materials, has an innovative, lightweight design that conserves valuable resources, and extended service life thanks to a renewable tread.

This article should give an overview over the recent development trends regarding the options for an upgrade of the tire-derived oil (TDO) with chemical and physical techniques. In two previous articles we have already dealt with the production of limonene and highlighted the advantages of fractional distillation of TDO. Introduction Refiners around the world are looking for alternatives to producing fuels from petrochemicals only. This is due to expected future declines in crude oil reserves combined with significant fuel demand growth expectations throughout the world and increasing environmental awareness among the population.

Climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and the fight for shipping containers are some of the obstacles that rubber producers face these days. The global rubber market has recently witnessed numerous supply chain disruptions, and now the international economy is challenged by a rubber deficiency, according to CNBC report. The broadcaster spoke to Ohio State University professor Katrina Cornish, who says that the global market is on the verge of ‘a rubber apocalypse’. Rubber is a crucial component used in the making of car tires, and supply chain disruptions can seriously impact the tire recycling industry. According to some forecast quoted by CNBC, the demand for natural rubber will only be increasing, and the NR market could be estimated at nearly $68.5 billion by 2026. And people’s dependence on car tires will keep on boosting the demand for rubber.

The Renewable Transport Fuel Association of the UK (RTFA) reports that its thirteen members and Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) of the UK have built a collaboration to promote greater uptake of pyrolysis, an advanced chemical recycling technology. To achieve this, they are funding a consultancy to contribute to the Environment Agency’s review of recovery options for end-of-life tires. Specifically, the group is seeking to demonstrate that pyrolysis is a sufficiently thorough and environmentally-safe process, and that the products should be classified as resources, not waste.

In our last article (Part I) we addressed the question of how the advantages of a classic batch-reactor process design can be combined with those of a continuous process mode. In the current article (Part II) we address some characteristics and advantages of a batch reactor regarding the thermochemical reactions and their effects on the end products. We refer to the extensive scientific literature and to the findings of successful companies in the industry.