News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

End-of-life tires (ELTs) represent a significant environmental challenge globally, with over 1 billion tires produced and discarded each year. Their durability and complex composition, which includes a mix of rubber compounds, metals, textiles, and fillers, make them particularly difficult to recycle. Traditional disposal methods like incineration and landfilling not only fail to recover valuable materials but also contribute to environmental degradation. As the world seeks more sustainable recycling practices, pyrolysis—a process of thermal decomposition in an inert atmosphere—has emerged as a promising alternative. This method allows for the recovery of valuable products such as recovered carbon black (rCB) and tire pyrolysis oil (TPO), including limonene, a solvent derived from the degradation of rubber components. However, achieving consistent, high-quality outputs through pyrolysis requires careful control of both feedstock characteristics and process parameters.

Fornnax Technology, an Ahmedabad-based recycling machinery manufacturer, is making significant inroads in Eastern Europe, recently completing installations of its primary shredders in Serbia, Poland, and Bulgaria. Managing Director Jignesh Kundaria highlighted this achievement during the TRRAI Conclave 2024, noting that Eastern European companies, which typically use European machinery, are now adopting Fornnax's recycling lines—a significant milestone for the company.

In Episode 66, Chief Editor of Tyre and Rubber Recycling Ewan Scott speaks with CEO Trevor Bayley of Australian tyre pyrolysis operator Green Distillation Technologies (GDT) to find out the project's current status as the business gets ready to expand.

The Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG Group) announced that it has launched studies to perform chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) by utilizing the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). The MCG Group aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by March 2026. Along with the accelerating trend in the tire industry toward using sustainable raw materials, there is a growing need to use recycled carbon black, one of the main raw materials and a rubber reinforcing agent used in tires.

Smithers has announced the agenda for its upcoming Sustainability in Tires 2024 conference, scheduled for October 14-16, 2024, at the Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai. This event will provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange among tire manufacturers, suppliers, regulators, and sustainability advocates. This annual conference serves as a forum for engineers, scientists, users, decision-makers, policymakers, and advocates to learn about innovations that will shape the industry's future. By effectively communicating knowledge and research, participants can influence practices and policies, inspiring innovation at all levels.

Van Dyck, affiliated with the tire recycler Mathe Group, has achieved Global GreenTag certification for its rubber flooring products, marking a milestone in sustainable manufacturing. The certification is particularly significant given Van Dyck's connection to the tire recycling industry, as the company produces rubber flooring from recycled materials, including those derived from end-of-life tires.

Pascal Klein, CEO of Pyrum Innovations AG: “Both systems are running so well that we are now focussing on the 100% performance test of TAD 2 and TAD 3. We are very satisfied and proud of our entire team, which is doing an exceptional job. We have learnt a lot over the last eight months, so that we can look to the future with confidence and better plan and therefore shorten future start-ups. At this point, it is important to mention once again that during commissioning of this kind, all system components are gradually pushed to their limits before they run at 100% together. This ensures the safety of our employees and our systems.

Véronique Giraud, CEO of Continental Tires France, has been elected President of ALIAPUR, France's leading end-of-life tire (ELT) collection service, starting August 1, 2024. Giraud has been with Continental since 1999, holding various senior roles, including Managing Director of Continental Tires China, before taking over the French division on July 1, 2024.

Weibold is pleased to support the 29th annual Chemfest—REACT 2024-25, organized by the Department of Chemistry at S.P. Mandali’s Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College. This year’s festival is themed "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India) with a special focus on "AI in Chemistry," reflecting the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence and chemical sciences.