News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

With an emphasis on recycling used tires, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) have partnered. The newly established Rubber Crumb Project was agreed upon by both organizations, and the agreement was signed on the UTT Chaguanas campus. Three million tires on average are imported into Trinidad and Tobago each year, according to CARIRI. This project is projected to address environmental issues brought on by the pollution of around 1.5 million scrap tires across the nation because there are few options for disposing of or recycling tires currently accessible.

Pyrum Innovations AG (Pyrum), a pioneer in the sustainable recycling of end-of-life tyres (ELT) based on its patented pyrolysis technology, has for the first time obtained a determination of the CO2 savings of its pyrolysis process as part of a "Life Cycle Assessment" (LCA, eco balance) by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology. The results once again demonstrate the unique and sustainable efficiency of the Pyrum technology. Compared to the use of fossil raw materials, Pyrum’s process saves 747 kg CO2 equivalent per tonne of ELT; if the use of the waste heat produced is included, as Pyrum is already applying, even 965 kg CO2 equivalent are saved per tonne of ELT.

Episode 36 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast features the CEO of a Swedish Tire Recycler Assosiation, SDAB or Svensk Däckåtervinning AB, Fredrik Ardefors. Ardefors spoke to Tyre & Rubber Recycling about the latest goings on with SDAB from rubber granulation to energy recovery to new tyre recycling facilities.</

Independent review of Australia’s Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme to start wide industry and community consultation on sustainable value going forward. An independent review of the national Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme, administered by Tyre Stewardship Australia, shows commendable work has delivered public benefit at small cost to the economy but that the Scheme has reached a turning point.

Every year, approximately 150 million tires are processed for recycling in Europe. This rubber from recycled tires has several useful applications, including being a crucial component of the artificial turf used in playgrounds, football fields, and road construction. The European Recycling Industries Federation (EuRIC), the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling (FER), and the Collective Management System for End-of-Life Tyres in Spain (SIGNUS) have all issued statements warning of the significant consequences of the European Commission's proposal to ban the use of rubber crumb, a byproduct of tyres that have reached the end of their useful lives, on artificial turf fields without taking into account alternative, equally effective policies with less negative environmental effects.

Recently, SIGNUS – a Spanish end-of-life tire management authority – has published its Activity Report for the 2021 financial year, where the company highlighted that 200,286 tonnes of ELTs were converted into new useful products for different applications. Of the total collected, 11.4% was used to prepare it for reuse (second-use or retreaded tires), 36.4% was used for energy recovery and the remaining 52.3% was recycled at the different plants. of transformation existing in Spain, in products that were destined to different applications.

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.

The renowned in the tyre recycling industry British magazine Tyre & Rubber Recycling runs a podcast exposing interesting topics and announcing updates to the tyre recycling and pyrolysis industries. Tyre Recycling Podcast interviews key players from the tyre recycling and pyrolysis industry from around the world. Make sure to subscribe for Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazine to receive updates about its interviews!

The EMEA Synthetic Turf Council (ESTC) takes note of the publication of the European Commission's recommendations for the implementation of limitations for the introduction of purposely added microplastics onto the European market (Annex XVII REACH1). The best strategy to limit microplastic emissions, according to the Commission, is to ban the sale of purposefully added microplastic infill for synthetic turf systems in the future (most often, end-of-life tyre shred).