News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Two innovative tire projects were presented at the Tyre Recovery Association’s (TRA) annual Recycling Forum Day in Warwick, the UK, on the 18th of June which was attended by over 90 delegates, including representatives of the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Agency. The event addressed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the current tire recovery program.

A global producer of synthetic rubber Trinseo believes that styrene which can be processed out of plastic waste can be reused in tire manufacturing; however, it is still unclear how the industry could switch from a linear production reaching a more sustainable approach like circular economy. This concern was voiced by Trinseo’s tech and innovation director Sandra Hofmann during Future Tire Conference 2019 in Germany’s Cologne earlier this month. She explained that currently there is an access to a stream of recycled styrene that could be used in packaging, or, alternatively, be upcycled in tires and SSBR (solution-styrene butadiene rubber).

Ewan Scott, the chief editor of Tyre and Rubber Recycling magazine, journalist and expert in global tire recycling sector, informs about that Tire Recycling Forum will be held again as a part of The Tire Cologne in 2020. According to Ewan’s article in the Tyre and Rubber Recycling Magazine, the format of the event will stay similar. Tyre and Rubber Recycling has already spoken to a number of potential speakers who might wish to address the Forum across a range of tire recycling topics.

Italy-based EcoTyre shared its first results of devlucanization initiative saying that the process gave outstanding results when used on retreaded Hankook tires. Some materials that rely on devulcanized rubber were used in tire retreads; according to EcoTyre, this method brought positive outcomes of the testing and the company now seeks to apply more devulcanized rubber in retreads as well as in new tires.

Every year, Australia is being threatened by 20 million tires that are dumped at landfills, thus, they pose danger to human safety and environment due to potential fire outbreak and contamination. To tackle the challenge, The New South Wales Environmental Authority (EPA) has endorsed the construction of the first green tire recycling plant; it will operate in Warren, northwest of Dubbo. Scrap tires there will be recycled into valuable products such as oil, steel and carbon.

One of many applications of fuel oil derived from scrap tires by means of pyrolysis is marine fuel. Tire pyrolysis operators, therefore, should be aware of changes in regulations introduced to maritime transportation. The main issue here is sulphur content which is usually rather high in tire pyrolysis oil. Starting next year IMO 2020 global regulation cap, will require all naval vessels to use fuel that contains sulphur of no more than 0.5%. This is set by Regulation 14.1.3, MARPOL Annex VI.

South Carolina’s Greenville is hosting the 8th Scrap Tire Recycling Conference on December 4-5 this year; the most dominant tire producing state in the US expects to unite the industry’s leaders and key players and to become an outstanding platform for networking. The conference is organized by Scrap Tire Research and Education Foundation (STREF). One of the conference’s sponsors is the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA); additionally, the event receives support of the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Cement company Argos belonging to a larger Colombian conglomerate used over 75,000 tons of waste as energy source last year – this amount represents all waste, including scrap tires, that a city with population of 200,000 generates annually. Moreover, the company’s alternative fuel control system at cement plant in Cartagena uses scrap tires and helped increase co-processing capacity of Regional Colombia by 200%. Following the success, the company signed an official document in which it set forth its commitment to sustainability vowing to rely on alternative fuels, including scrap tire rubber, received via recycling.

U.S. state of Kentucky has been handling scrap tires by establishing the Waste Tire Trust Fund that gets its money from $2 fees imposed on each new tire when it is purchased. Thanks to the fund, the state manages five million of waste tires each year sending them to Champlin Tire Recycling in Kansas where the waste is transformed into valuable ADA-accessible products. They are later applied in playgrounds and trails construction, as well as in landscaping projects.