News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Scientists at Flinders University in Australia have developed a new type of rubber that is “super-adhesive” and that, when combined with a special catalyst, becomes self-healing. According to recently released news, researchers in Australia created the rubber using only end-of-life materials, including sulfur, canola cooking oil and dicyclopentadiene from petroleum refining. This rubber, when damaged, is able to quickly repair itself at ambient temperature using an amine catalyst. In matter of minutes, damaged rubber, reportedly, gets as strong as before.

“With little income just now, businesses still have overheads to meet while recycling gate prices are very much higher than at this time even a year ago. Furthermore, cash flows are under pressure like never before. The temptations are obvious and some will undoubtedly be driven to take in the nations old tyres at prices well below what are now necessary to move them properly through our recycling infrastructure. I suspect that many are being driven more by hope than expectations and faced with this financial reality will simply ‘dump and run’ leaving property owners and the public purse with yet again an ugly and very expensive problem. We must not allow this to happen. We can all play our part,” continues Taylor, “the Environment Agency and our other regulators must continue to offer help to operators but at the same time apply the test of realism in their role as enforcers.”

According to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Texas is well-known among other American states for its end-of-life tire problem. This May, Eco-Flex – one of the leading tire recycling companies in Canada – announced it would establish a major manufacturing, distribution, and sales center in Lampasas, Texas to help tackle the problem. The new tire recycling plant is expected to bring up to 200 jobs to the area while supporting the state’s progressive economic growth plans. The construction of the 25,000-square-foot tire recycling plant is expected to begin on June 2, 2020.

Kal Tire’s new carbon calculator quantifies environmental savings when retreading tires. The company recently announced the certification of its new carbon calculator that is able to determine fuel and carbon emissions saved by retreading earthmover tires compared to buying new. With that, the company is launching its Maple Program, which quantifies a customer’s environmental impact as they grow their fleet with tire retreads.

As reported by NBC Montana, Firefighters from multiple fire departments worked hard Sunday early morning last weekend to extinguish a fire at Tire Depot in Pablo. The tire recycling plant set on fire is located a mile north of Pablo off the highway U.S. 93 in Montana. Firefighters from Finley Point / Yellow Bay Fire Department told NBC Montana the fire at the plant was brought under control by 6:30 am.

As reported by Market Screener, Pyrolyx AG – an internationally renowned producer of recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires – recently announced that it would continue the current shut down of its recovered carbon black (rCB) manufacturing facilities in Terre Haute, Indiana and Stegelitz, Germany, which was at first announced on March 24, 2020. During the shutdown of its manufacturing facilities, Pyrolyx is reviewing operational and financial requirements to reopen facilities safely and efficiently at a later point of time.

End-of-life tires present a “far reaching environmental concern due to serious risk posed by the chemical contents and toxins released from the decomposition of tires,” – says Permanent Secretary Joshua Wycliffe. Wycliffe asserts that waste tires are a hazardous waste because they contain oils and heavy metals like lead which can persist in the environment, accumulating killer toxins across areas where end-of-life tires are stockpiled. In addition, Wycliffe says that burning waste tires release hazardous toxins that pose serious threat to human health, including respiratory disorders and other lasting consequences.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) released April issue of its Natural Rubber Trends & Statistics. Below we cite the ANRPC’s publication and share views of the organization on the current trends on natural rubber markets, which very much affect prices for recycled rubber materials and goods. ANRPC writes that while the Covid-19 pandemic has put the entire world in a standstill with the lockdowns, movement controls, social distancing practices and widespread closures implemented by governments around the world, they have impacted the natural rubber industry in multiple ways. In this context, ANRPC has made a preliminary assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the production, primary processing, trading and consumption of NR in its member countries. The key observations reported by member governments are briefly presented in the April issue of ANRPC’s Natural Rubber Trends and Statistics.

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!