News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Dear Readers, the new issue of Tire Recycling Insights is out! If you have not yet subscribed for our monthly newsletter, you can view our and subscribe for interesting and informative articles which highlight the most important events and updates in the tire recycling industry! 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!

This September, Robert Weibold attended the First International Cooperation Summit on Tire and Rubber Recycling in Kunshan, China, on 16 and 17 September 2019. The event gathered industry participants from all over China, as well as from the European Union, the United States and other countries. Proclaimed by Zhu Jun, the president of China’s Tire Recycling Association (CTRA), the motto of the summit was “Environment first, Resources second; no mercy to polluting technologies”. As he and many other speakers asserted, China had gone a huge transformation in the tire recycling industry over the last 10 years.

Tire pyrolysis is a complex capital-intensive business which requires much know-how and which is rather challenging to successfully run today. However, we are convinced tire pyrolysis has a bright future ahead. First, let’s consider reasons which make this business challenging. In the OECD countries, tire pyrolysis is hampered mainly by national regulations. For instance, in Germany, fuels obtained from recycled rubber are banned for use in vehicular engines.

ELDAN Recycling, Danish manufacturer of recycling equipment, has launched their new Twin Shaft Clean-Cut Shredder for production of clean-cut tyre chips from car or truck tyres. According to the equipment supplier, two frequency converters ensure a very flexible operation, i.e. individual setting of RPM, overload protection, auto reverse at overload and high torque from zero RPM. This ensures up to 50% power saving.

Greentire is an Italian end-of-life tire recycling company taking innovative approaches to boost circular economy. The company cooperates with Activa – specialists in the field of chemicals for bitumen and asphalt mixes – whose general manager Francesco Santella was in charge of the project and research studying the possibility of making asphalts that would contain rubber from recycled end-of-life tires (ELT).

Commercial applications of end-of-life tires (ELT) as crumb rubber infill in sports pitches are unlikely to see any changes after the scientific committees of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) granted their new approval, Fazilet Cinaralp, secretary of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) said. According to the ECHA’s findings, infill material with levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) below 20 ppm pose no harm to athletes.

Last month, the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association discussed the changing demands of society and transport technology and how they will impact investment in road projects and pavements during the 18th International Flexible Pavements Conference and Exhibition in Sydney.

A report by Central Pollution Control Board of India (CPCB) states that in 19 states of the country there are 637 tire pyrolysis plants out of which over 1/3 are not complying with the regulations. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has instructed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to manage the import of end-of-life tires for use in pyrolysis industry. NGT’s Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asserts that unsanctioned tire pyrolysis operations ubiquitously used in India cause severe air pollution in the country and also impact health of workers of the plants.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) has concluded a new deal with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) that will study and test the application of rubber from waste tires in the asphalt. The study is partly sponsored by TSA. Other investors are the Victorian Department of Transport and an independent national transport research organisation, ARRB.