News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) has been informed that the fuel company Preem has performed successful production tests of the recovered pyrolysis oil that Enviro recently supplied. In November last year, the fuel company Preem placed an order with Enviro for recovered pyrolysis oil for use as a raw material in production tests to determine how suitable it is for the production of different biofuels. Since the start of deliveries in early February, Preem has been performing tests of the oil at its facility in Lysekil, Sweden, which had already been granted a permit specifically for conducting production tests of pyrolysis oil.

Life for Tyres (L4T) – a busines group specialised in the conversion of end-of-life tires into advanced biofuel feedstock and high quality secondary raw materials –announced the opening of its first plant in Puertollano (Spain). The plant upcycles end-of-life tires (ELTs) into high quality secondary commodities, such as advanced biofuel feedstock, recovered carbon black and scrap steel, using a cutting-edge and proprietary technology. With an investment of 33 million euros and an annual processing of 27,000 tons of waste tires, the plant is the largest and most advanced ever built in Europe. The plant's inauguration is the result of more than 10 years of research, industrial testing and operational improvements, and represents a significant milestone for L4T while bringing highly promising new upcycling opportunities for the tire industry. Using proprietary technology developed in partnership with CURTI Group and protected by five patents, the plant produces high-quality end-products, which include advanced biofuel feedstock and circular depolymerization oil, both certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC).

Building on the success of last edition of summit, ACI announced that the 3rd European Carbon Black Summit will take place on 14th on 15th June 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany. To register for the Summit, ACI offers a special 15% discount up until 6 weeks prior to the event and 10% after that until the event's date to all Weibold’s subsribers available via the promo code “CCBe3MKTWeibold”. For further information or to register your attendance contact Rohan Baryah on rbaryah@acieu.net or +48 61 646 7022 quoting the promo code. About the Summit Carbon Black (CB) demand is forecasted to increase, and addressing this increase will be very challenging as the war in Ukraine has already caused a big gap in the supply of virgin carbon black. Some of the experts from this field say that shortage of supply of CB goes up to 40% compared to the years before the war. The main focus of this summit will be to address these issues. With key topics such as CB market overview, improving sustainability in the industry, achieving superiority in supply chain and others we will try to give answers to these pressing issues. Focus will be also on improving standardisation in recovered CB as well as problems with calculating life cycle of tires.

According to Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), 20 million tonnes of rubber are used annually in the tire manufacturing sector to produce new tires. Over one million tonnes of industrial tires that are approaching the end of their useful lives are then buried on mine sites as a result of intensive use, creating environmental and operational challenges for mine operators. Circular Rubber Technologies (CRT) has developed a chemical-free devulcanization process that transforms one of the mining industry’s largest waste streams into a new valuable material. Their Rubber Reclaim product will be used to create new tires, significantly reducing the amount of virgin rubber demand and rubber ending up in landfills.

Following on from last years' hugely successful event, Smithers have announced Recovered Carbon Black Conference plans to travel to Barcelona on the 7-8 November 2023. About the Recovered Carbon Black Conference. Recognized within the industry as an essential platform for experts and innovators, the programme offers a 360-degree perspective of the recovered carbon black market, with key industry leaders from across the globe sharing their expertise, case studies and latest findings. The Recovered Carbon Black Conference provided a much-needed platform for experts and innovators, who research, develop and commercialise recovered carbon black to stay updated on the latest market developments, challenges and opportunities.

Episode 45 of the Tyre Recycling podcast features an interview with Martin von Wolfersdorff, the Managing Director of Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin. During the interview Martin discusses the current state of play in the tyre pyrolysis sector and the changes seen over the last few year with manufacturers stating to dictate the specifications of their requirements. Tyre Recycling Podcast’s interviewer Ewan Scott also asked Martin to talk about the success of the Smithers Rcb Conference and the problems and opportunities that could exist from the potential crumb rubber restrictions.

During Tire Technology Expo 2023, which takes place from March 21-23 in Hannover, Germany, Michelin won two international awards, bestowed by a panel of experts from the tire industry, the academic world, and the press: • The Tire Manufacturer of the Year award, won for the sixth time, an absolute record. • The Environmental Achievement of the Year- Tire Design award, for the first two tires approved for road use (cars and buses) that include 45% and 58% sustainable materials respectively. This award belongs to a new category, rewarding the technological advances in the industry that are most respectful of the environment.

According to the latest press release by Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), regional Queensland is suffering with illegal tire dumping and dangerous tire stockpiles representing a missed opportunity for Australia’s northeast state. By recovering resources like steel and rubber from end-of-life tires, Queensland can build high-performance roads and generate valuable commercial markets that promote local jobs and manufacturing across the state. “Putting crumb rubber in roads is a winning circular economy formula already happening across Australia and around the world. “It’s time for Queensland State and Local government to start mandating their roads be made using Australian crumb rubber. By not mandating locally available rubber resources for roads, Queensland risks letting its road sector fall behind on industry best practice,” says Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia.

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.