News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

German tire recycling organization AZuR reports that while car and truck tire are being produced, rainforests are being destroyed. Manufacturers require rubber, leading to the emergence of more natural rubber plantations at the expense of untouched forests. Although some alternatives exist, AZuR says, the tire industry remains entangled in opaque supply chains.

Chinese tire maker Sailun Group plans to partner with the owner of Mexico's largest tire dealer to build a USD240 million automobile tire plant in the South American country to enhance its ability to cope with international trade barriers. Sailun's Singaporean unit will join hands with TD International Holdings to build a plant with an annual production capacity of six million semi-steel radial tires for the North American market in Leon in Mexico's Guanajuato State, the Qingdao-based company announced late on Dec. 15. The construction period will be 12 months.

Gradeall – a manufacturer of innovative tire baling and recycling equipment from Nothern Ireland – reports 2023 marked a year of unparalleled success for the companym which solidified its position as a leading provider in the waste management sector, especially tire recycling. Of note are Gradeall's gains in the American market with several new customers won in 2023. Renowned for its comprehensive array of tire balers, compactor machines, and cutting-edge tire recycling technology, Gradeall proudly extended its services across continents. From Ireland and the UK to the far reaches of Australia, North and South America, and Africa, Gradeall's machinery caters to a diverse range of manufacturing needs.

RuLa-BRW GmbH and Nokian Tyres plc are starting "a new era of collaboration." The retreader from Königs Wusterhausen announces that it will incorporate the innovative retreading material Noktop from the Finnish tire manufacturer into its own cold retreading process and will soon offer retreaded tires with this material in Germany. The implementation of this project is expected to take place "in the very near future," according to the announcement.

In Episode 57, The Tyre Recycling Podcast features the new Recircle Award winner for the Mechanical Tyre Recycling Award, Duramos SAS and their CEO Jaime Durán Martínez. During the Interview Jaime spoke about Duramos's journey in developing a competitive position in Colombia, their process in selecting Eco-Green Equipment's machinery and their plans for sharing their knowledge and developing other OTR recycling plants in neighbouring countries.

According to Wastefront’s latest press release, the company will achieve significantly higher CO2 reductions than anticipated, following an updated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by independent expert DNV. Wastefront’s Port of Sunderland plant was already considered a climate milestone for handling end-of-life tyres (ELTs), a significantly under-reported source of pollution. Following DNV’s new assessment – covering construction, operation, and decommissioning – the plant’s environmental benefits are now even more pronounced than before. The top-line environmental improvements include:

Zhongce Rubber Recycling Technology Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of ZC Rubber, in collaboration with Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Nanjing Green Gold Giant Rubber & Plastic Advanced Technology Co., Ltd., is proud to announce that the project, "Demonstration Project of Waste Rubber Recycle & Application Technology", has been awarded the First Prize in Technological Advancement by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF). ZC Rubber is the only company in the Chinese tire industry to receive this prestigious honor.

On December 12, OMV the integrated energy, fuels & feedstock, and chemicals & materials company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and Synthos, the biggest synthetic rubber producer in Europe with a global reach, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under the MoU, the two companies will cooperate on sustainability, focusing in particular on the supply of sustainable raw materials that can be used to manufacture high-performance tires. This step underlines both companies’ commitment to a circular economy by using bio-based and circular feedstocks, underpinning their mass-balance approach to manufacture essential products in everyday life.

Episode 56 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast is out, featuring Contec's CEO Krzysztof Wróblewski. This episode was recorded at The Future of Recycling Conference during Futurmotive, Expo & Talks. Tune in to hear Contec's plans for the pyrolysis sector.