Search Results

In his latest article, Martin von Wolfersdorf – a renown carbon black expert from Berlin – discusses the challenges faced by the recovered carbon black industry, particularly in terms of securing industry support and investment. Von Wolfersdorf notes that while the tire industry has made clear demands for tire sustainability, there could be more investment from tire and carbon black corporations to support the growth of the industry. Martin von Wolfersdorf also highlights the financial challenges faced by start-ups in the recovered carbon black industry, particularly those without an industrial operation. These companies often have more cash-burn than cash-flow, as planning and developing can be costly activities. Even pre-engineering studies required for permits can cost up to €1M. The article emphasizes that these start-ups need more equity investment to sustain their operations.

Anva Polytech has announced a significant reduction in emissions—over 1,000,000 kg of CO₂ equivalents—by incorporating recovered carbon black (rCB) from Scandinavian Enviro Systems into its rubber products.

Martin von Wolfersdorff – a renown carbon black expert from Berlin – started a monthly recovered carbon black newsletter on LinkedIn! In the inaugural October edition, he highlighted some interesting events in Q3'2022. Martin von Wolfersdorff is a world-class expert in pyrolysis and recovered carbon black as well as marketing of specialty chemical materials. He is deeply involved in the industry, serves one of the organizers of the first global conference on recovered carbon black and has been supporting multinational companies in the tire pyrolysis sector, the tire industry, tire trade organizations, rubber and the plastics industries.

Bolder Industries increased investment in technical expertise, physical lab space, and its leadership team based on the success of its pilot programs. The Bolder Industries’ plant in Maryville, Missouri, fully commercialized the solution, accepting end-of-life tires at the gate and extracting steel, BolderBlack® (Bolder Industries' recovered carbon black brand), gas, and petrochemicals with a 98% recovery rate and a net-positive energy facility. The company reports that the net effect is a ~90% reduction of environmental impact across the board when considering greenhouse gas emissions, electricity, and water usage, and at a lower price. The company’s press release in May 2020 said Bolder Industries' patent-pending manufacturing process offered all of the petroleum-based products inside of a tire another life, revealing re-use savings.

Carbon Black is produced by burning fossil fuels, however the market is shifting as the rubber and plastics industries turn to tire pyrolysis as a source of recovered Carbon Black. Smart Tire Recycling (STR), based in Pittsburgh, says that their innovative method yields recovered Carbon Black (rCB), which is equivalent to virgin Carbon Black used in tires. Pyrolysis, which needs high temperatures to transform materials into liquid in the absence of oxygen, has been the primary technology for producing rCB until now. Despite a long history of research and development, meeting the criteria and needed properties for usage as a CB replacement has remained a challenge.

Scandinavian Enviro Systems – a renowned tire pyrolysis equipment manufacturer from Sweden – reports that its production company has now obtained ISO certification in accordance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 regarding the company’s quality and environmental management systems. “Our production has been running in accordance with both certifications for a long time, being certified formally is important in our customer dialogues, as it’s often required,” says Thomas Sörensson, CEO of Enviro.

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.

Birla Carbon has announced the closing of a US$750 million Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) with a syndicate of more than 15 institutions on December 17, 2021. The loan funds would be utilized to refinance Birla Carbon's current debts. The ANZ Group is the deal's only sustainability coordinator. The statement is especially significant because Birla Carbon previously announced the introduction of the Continua brand of Sustainable Carbonaceous Materials (SCM) in 2021, as well as its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Since 2013, Birla Carbon has published an annual Sustainability Report including Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

Contec S.A., a startup recovering industrial raw materials from used tires, has raised EUR 10 million in their latest funding round. These funds will be used to expand the efficiency of Contec's plant (Szczecin, Poland) almost threefold. Two investors are providing the funds: HiTech ASI, the corporate venture capital fund of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, and the Warsaw Equity Group, which is the majority shareholder. Contec S.A. invests in increasing processing capacity The lead investor of the round is HiTech ASI, managed by VINCI - a subsidiary of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The second investor is Contec's major shareholder, the Warsaw Equity Group. The funds obtained (EUR 8 million - HiTech ASI and EUR 2 million - Warsaw Equity Group) will be used to increase the processing capacity of Contec's Szczecin plant. Once completed, the plant will be able to nominally process 33,000 tons of used tires per year – three times more than today. In addition, the modernization will increase the production capacity of post-pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black.