Search Results

During the latest international trade fair IAA Mobility, Continental presented innovative technologies that set new standards. One topic of focus is sustainability. As early as 2021, the tire manufacturer focused on the use of silica from agricultural waste, polyester from recycled PET and other renewable and recyclable materials with the Conti GreenConcept concept tire. Continental has now incorporated many of these technologies into its series tires. With the UltraContact NXT, the company launched the most sustainable series tire to date last year. This underlines Continental’s claim to be the most progressive manufacturer in the tire industry when it comes to sustainability.

The war in Ukraine and upcoming Ecodesign Regulation as part of reforms under the EU Green Deal resulted in sharp rise in interest in recovered materials. Synthos announces that its collaboration with Swiss company Tyre Recycling Solutions (TRS) is progressing according to plan as it obtained a minority stake in the successful scale-up company following the acquisition of Trinseo's synthetic rubber business at the end of 2021. In addition to the progress Synthos and TRS have made together in the marketplace, resulting in approvals with global tyre manufacturers and initial commercial sales for tyre applications, Synthos and TRS have seen a sharp increase in interest in TyreXol™ recycled rubber. The reasons for this increase are twofold and can be linked to reduced availability of synthetic rubber and carbon black since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, as well as upcoming regulatory changes that are likely to mandate the use of recycled content in tyre production.

Due to the global pandemic caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, the tire pyrolysis industry has diverse opinions about the fate of recovered carbon black (rCB) produced by pyrolysis plants. As rCB business largely depends on market dynamics of the virgin carbon black, one needs to analyze the carbon black industry to forecast rCB business opportunities. In this article, we would like to reassure our industry members engaged in pyrolysis and rCB production that despite disastrous impact of Covid-19, there are strong signs of recovery. Below, we cite articles recently published by the European Rubber Journal (ERJ), which give a great deal of hope to the industry.

New Zealand’s government has approved regulations which will change the way the country manages its end-of-life tires. They outline how regulated product stewardship, through the Tyrewise scheme, will work for the first time in Aotearoa. A key part of the regulation is replacing the existing ad hoc ‘environmental’ or disposal charges New Zealanders currently face when disposing of old tires with a tire stewardship fee.

Bandag – Bridgestone’s tread manufacturing and retread business for truck tires – has officially been recognized as a Circular Economy Collaborator by Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA). The Bandag process is valuable in driving sustainable outcomes for used tires, by extending their life, and contributing to TSA's vision of a circular economy for end-of-life tires and tire recovery in Australia. Bandag's retreaded tires not only reduce the need for raw materials by extending the life of the tire, but also use valuable material from end-of-life tires and rubber waste to create the new treads.

To produce devulcanized rubber with very high-quality standards, EVOREC Rubber Plus (F. lli MARIS S.p.A) – an Italian technology provider for evoluted rubber and plastic recycling solutions and innovator in the field of end-of-life tire rubber devulcanization – has designed and patented a new two-step devulcanization process. The first stage involve devulcanization of the rubber by means of a co-rotating twin-screw extruder – characteristics equivalent to Evorec Rubber. The rubber thus devulcanized will go to feed, by direct connection, the second extruder. The second stage, given by the combination of a single-screw extruder and a screen-changer, offers the possibility of achieving significant advantages:

At a time when mining operations are looking to a future with improved ESG, safety and productivity, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group is bringing customers impactful, forward-thinking solutions that didn’t exist before. At Electra Mining 2022, Kal Tire showcases a host of innovations—from an expanded carbon emissions reporting program and a recycling solution that promotes a circular economy to autonomous tyre inspections and prototypes for two first-of-the-kind tools that will change how technicians work safely around the wheel.

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.

According Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) – Australian end-of-life tyre recycling and management authority – the country's Northern Territory recovers only 12% of its used tyres, compared to a national recovery rate of 72%. That’s 4,300 tonnes of used tyres buried in pit, landfilled, stockpiled or illegally dumped each year.   Tyre Stewardship Australia CEO Lina Goodman says, “the Northern Territory’s unique features make it an ideal testing hub, however it is also a challenging place to recycle and recover the valuable resources from its used tyres.”