News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Over 160 professionals from all over the world attended in Netzsch’ product presentation on "Efficient Fine Grinding of Recovered Carbon Black with Fluidized Bed Jet Mills” this June! The high participation shows that the tire pyrolysis industry is concerned about the value of their products and may be moving towards investment into rCB refinement technology. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the session attests to the fact that operators are looking for ways to refine carbon fraction of their pyrolysis operation in order to reach broader markets and achieve higher prices.

Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet reports that this June it awarded over $480,000 in grants to six counties for application of rubber-modified asphalt to roadways and $500,000 in grants – for projects that use rubber mulch from end-of-life tires. Rubberized asphalt grants As regards to the rubberized asphalt initiatives, counties receiving grants in Kentucky were approved on June 18 and include: Hardin ($114,514), Calloway ($56,100), Simpson ($85,830), McLean ($85,000), Butler ($101,430), and Green ($39,875).

United Kingdom is planning to launch a national bicycle tire recycling program in 2020. BikeBiz magazine reports that in 2018, a survey showed that over 44,000 tons of end-of-life bicycle tires and inner tubes end up at landfills in the UK every year. This figure is set to rise as participation continues to increase, the magazine says.

Great news about the involvement of tire manufacturing companies in tire recycling activities is coming from Indonesia. Global non-profit organization, Soles4Souls Asia, Ltd (Sole4Souls Asia) and PT Bridgestone Tire Indonesia (Bridgestone Indonesia), a group company of Bridgestone Corporation, one of the world’s largest tire and rubber companies, announced a new 2 year partnership (2020 – 2022) for an exciting sustainable project to create new shoes out of recycled end-of-life tires. The partnership will be set in motion on June 5 in celebration of World Environment Day, serving as an important reminder for the world to address pressing environmental concerns and work collectively toward a sustainable society.

This year, Emterra Group has been recognized on Canada’s Greenest Employers list. According to a news release from Emterra, the company is the only waste and recycling company included on the list this year. “At Emterra Group, we have a saying, ‘think innovatively, transform waste into resources.’ For more than 40 years we have been reshaping the way consumers, businesses and municipalities manage waste,” says Emmie Leung, founder and CEO of Emterra Group. “We work every day to be a positive example of environmental stewardship for our employees, our customers, our communities and the environment.”

On June 17, 2020 the world’s first webinar about recovered carbon black (rCB) in plastic color concentrates (also called masterbatches) was held by Martin von Wolfersdorff from Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin. During the webinar, Martin spoke about the state of technology for recovered carbon black, introduced masterbatch basics such as types of masterbatches and color measurement with CIE L*a*b*, showcased 5 companies who offer recovered carbon black masterbatches and explained important test methods for masterbatches with recovered carbon black as well as regulatory aspects.

According to recent news from the European Chemical Agency, (ECHA), its Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) supports restricting the use of intentionally added microplastics while recommending more stringent criteria for biodegradable polymers. The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) agreed on its draft opinion, which will soon be available for consultation. Below, we quote the original article. The full article can be found at Cosmetic OBS or in the Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazine.

A renowned in the tyre recycling industry British magazine Tyre & Rubber Recycling and its Chief Editor Ewan Scott recently launched a podcast giving exposure to issues and updates in tyre recycling, pyrolysis and other related subjects. The Tyre Recycling Podcast will feature key personalities from the tyre recycling industry from around the world and will be published on a regular basis.

Smithers recently announced that its annual event Carbon Black World – one of the world's leading forums for the carbon black value chain – is scheduled for November 10-12, in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. According to Smithers, the two-day conference regularly attracts an international audience that spans the entire carbon black value chain, including producers, end-users, and equipment solution providers from across the tire, rubber, plastics, compounds and ink industries all around the world.