News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Grupo Antolin presents the first headliner substrate produced by thermoforming a PU foam with materials made from urban & post-consumer plastic waste and end of life tires. Working with recycled materials is a natural step in the company’s commitment to develop a sustainable business. The aim is to reduce waste and energy consumption during manufacturing and to meet the demand for eco-friendly interiors, something increasingly valued in car buyers' choices, according to Grupo Antolin.

According to the recent press release by Bolder Industries, the company is to launch an additional tire pyrolysis plant in Terre Haute, Indiana (United States). The Terre Haute facility will begin production in early 2023, increasing the company's current capacity. Bolder Industries, Inc., the pioneer of advanced sustainable chemical manufacturing sourced from end-of-life tires, today announced the purchase of the former Pyrolyx facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. The 66,000-square-foot location, which ceased operations in March 2020, will be retrofitted with Bolder Industries' proprietary solution, utilizing the currently permitted facility to increase Bolder's manufacturing capacity within the first year of operations. The initial phase is expected to be completed in early 2023 and is estimated to divert approximately three million tires from landfill or burning.

Sussan Ley, the Federal Minister for the Environment, has unveiled a new $10 million state-of-the-art tire recycling plant in Western Sydney's Erskine Park. The plant, according to TireCycle CEO Jim Fairweather, will be able to treat the tens of thousands of tons of end-of-life tires that were previously shipped offshore, resulting in adverse environmental effects. "It's a huge win for the environment and Australia's circular economy," Fairweather said, adding that "end-of-life tires will now be given a new lease on life." The facility will recycle end-of-life tires into products such as tire-derived fuel and rubber crumb for use in roads, flooring tiles and sports surfaces. The factory is expected to produce 10,000 tons of rubber crumb and 40,000 tons of tire-derived fuel per year (TDF).

Tyre Stewardship Australia – the end-of-life tire management authority designing programs and regulations for tire recycling and material recovery in the country – reports that ReMade was launched at the beginning of December in Australia. ReMade is an initiative by the Australian Government to help industry transform recycled waste into productive outcomes. Tyre Stewardship Australia says it couldn’t be more supportive of the initiative as it believes that by turning waste products like end-of-life tires into a valuable commodity, will help drive a more circular economy, and create accountability across the tire value chain.

Read about the most important events and updates in the tire recycling and pyrolysis industry! Subscribe for our newsletter today! Weibold offers comprehensive consulting services in the field of tire recycling and tire pyrolysis. Learn how Weibold's Market Researches can help you successfully launch and upgrade your business!

Following its traditionally successful track record, another Recovered Carbon Black Conference organized by Smithers turned out to be a great success. The conference took place on November 22-23, 2021, in Amsterdam (The Netherland). Recognized within the industry as an essential platform for experts and innovators, the program offered a 360-degree perspective of the Recovered Carbon Black market. Key industry leaders from around the world shared their expertise, case studies and latest findings.

According to the press release by Genan from October this year, new majority shareholder of environmental company Genan, one of the largest tire recycling companies in the world, is Maj Invest Equity 5 K/S. Sole owner of Genan since 2014, PKA has made an agreement with Maj Invest Equity for the latter to take over 51% of shares. PKA continues to co-own as minority shareholder. Genan Holding A/S is the parent company of the Genan group, which counts six recycling plants in Denmark, Germany, Portugal and the USA – and has more than 300 employees worldwide. Genan’s annual report for 2020, which was presented in May, showed an EBITDA of just under EUR 12m, which is a most satisfactory result considering the Corona crisis.

Michelin and Bridgestone publicly announced their collaboration on developing the recovered carbon black on November 22 at the Smithers rCB Conference in Amsterdam. Sander Vermeulen of Michelin and Jake Ronsholt of Bridgestone took to the stage to discuss the role of pyrolysis in the tire recycling industry as well as the opportunities it presents. Vermeulen was apparent that pyrolysis had the potential to reduce the amount of fossil fuel utilized for virgin Carbon Black used in tires, but there were obstacles. Vermeulen was apparent that pyrolysis had the potential to reduce the amount of fossil fuel utilized for virgin Carbon Black used in tires, but there were obstacles. According to Vermeulen, many operators had demonstrated that industrial pyrolysis on a small scale could produce the needed rCB. However, when scaled up to major commercial operations, there was no uniformity and no standards, and there was a lack of consistency and specification.

The International Organization for Standardization (2008, 2013) defines chemical recycling as a production of new raw materials by changing the chemical structure of polymers (e.g., plastic, rubber) through depolymerization, excluding energy recovery and incineration. Whereby depolymerisation is understood as a reversion of a polymer to its monomer(s) or to a polymer of lower relative molecular mass. This irreversible chemical decomposition (depolymerization) in pyrolysis processes is caused solely by a rise in temperature in an inert or oxygen free environment (UIPAC, 2021).