News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

EFG Polymers, a resource recovery company based in Arizona, United States, announced this December an initiative to redefine what constitutes “end-of-life” (EOL) for tires and what constitutes rubber waste. The materials incorporated in tires when removed from service retain almost all of the properties existing when the tires were manufactured, indeed it is the retention of these properties of indestructibility that create the resource recovery challenge. The current EOL processes almost universally destroy those valuable properties rather than recover the resources. EFG technologies engineer new elastomeric materials with high value applications and dramatically extend the life of the resources while eliminating waste.

The World Economic Forum recently published an article about a Kuwaiti company EPSCO, who is committed to solve the country’s end-of-life tire stockpiling problem. Before EPSCO launched its first tire recycling plant in 2020, Weibold supported the company with the market research for recycled tire-derived products. According to the World Economic Forum, EPSCO Global General Trading has a plant that recycles used tires and turns them into consumer goods. The facility has the capacity to recycle up to 3 million tires per year. This operation is crucial in addressing Kuwait's trash problem, which has been dubbed the "tire graveyard."

Tyre Stewardship Australia – the end-of-life tire management authority in Australia – writes that the tire manufacturing industry is now taking another step towards assuring sustainable natural rubber. According to its recent social media feed, members of the multi-stakeholder Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) took an important step towards ensuring the production, processing and consumption of natural rubber does not cause social or environmental harm.

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).

SIGNUS is the major Spanish EPR program for end-of-life tires, which, in 2020 alone, managed 150,228 tons of end-of-life tires helping turn them into new useful products for different applications. The organization recently announced an adjustment to the structure of tire categories in its pricing table to adapt to the economic demands of the industry. Apart from its major role in the Spanish tire recycling industry, SIGNUS issues a monthly e-magazine called “Revista Ecovalor”. We recommend reading the magazine to everyone who is interested in the Spanish tire recycling and end-of-life tire management industry.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) says its outlook of global natural rubber has improved further this month based on the preliminary updates given by Member Governments up to November 2021. Although the production in most producing countries is affected by adverse weather this month, the global production of NR is expected to grow by 2.1% to 13.882 million tonnes. The outlook on global demand remains positive with expansion by 8.7% to 14.076 million. The favorable market fundamental brought positive sentiments to the NR market.

ITOCHU Corporation, headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, recently announced that it had agreed the acquisition of Murfitts Group Ltd, headquartered in Lakenheath, U.K., a tire recycling company based in the United Kingdom. The acquisition has been made through the ITOCHU subsidiary European Tyre Enterprise Limited (ETEL), a a tire wholesaler and retailer based in the U.K. In the United Kingdom, ETEL operates an extensive network of retail centers, under the well-known Kwik Fit brand, and nationwide wholesale tire distribution through Stapleton’s Tyre Services.

Kal Tire is one of the leaders worldwide in sustainable OTR and mining tire solutions. Recently, the company introduced the Ultra Repair™ technology that allows sending worn-out OTR and mining tires back into production. Kal Tire Repairs and Ultra Repairs work with customers to keep their fleet functioning and save money on tires. Kal Tire’s award-winning and proprietary Ultra Repair™ technology transforms end-of-life OTR tires that would otherwise be scrapped into like-new tires, while the company’s normal repairs increase uptime via scheduled, preventative maintenance. Kal Tire provides reliable quality thanks to its world-class facilities, industry-leading training, and stringent standards.

In the most recent Tyre & Rubber Recycling Podcast, Michelin and Bridgestone's Call to Action received a good response. Tyre & Rubber Recycling's editor Ewan Scott met with a number of pyrolysis operators and inventors after the Smithers rCB Conference to find out what they anticipated the impact will be on their industry. The 28th episode of the podcast features video comments from Thomas Sorensson from Enviro, as well as feedback from Rob Harper from CIRCTEC and Pascal Klein from Pyrum Innovations. It also features video links with Jens Elton Andersen of Windspace and Henrik Selstam of Wastefront, both of whom have large-scale start-up aspirations.