News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Michelin and Bridgestone publicly announced their collaboration on developing the recovered carbon black on November 22 at the Smithers rCB Conference in Amsterdam. Sander Vermeulen of Michelin and Jake Ronsholt of Bridgestone took to the stage to discuss the role of pyrolysis in the tire recycling industry as well as the opportunities it presents. Vermeulen was apparent that pyrolysis had the potential to reduce the amount of fossil fuel utilized for virgin Carbon Black used in tires, but there were obstacles. Vermeulen was apparent that pyrolysis had the potential to reduce the amount of fossil fuel utilized for virgin Carbon Black used in tires, but there were obstacles. According to Vermeulen, many operators had demonstrated that industrial pyrolysis on a small scale could produce the needed rCB. However, when scaled up to major commercial operations, there was no uniformity and no standards, and there was a lack of consistency and specification.

The International Organization for Standardization (2008, 2013) defines chemical recycling as a production of new raw materials by changing the chemical structure of polymers (e.g., plastic, rubber) through depolymerization, excluding energy recovery and incineration. Whereby depolymerisation is understood as a reversion of a polymer to its monomer(s) or to a polymer of lower relative molecular mass. This irreversible chemical decomposition (depolymerization) in pyrolysis processes is caused solely by a rise in temperature in an inert or oxygen free environment (UIPAC, 2021).

GMN is one of Spain's largest tire recyclers, with its headquarters in Catalonia. According to the Agència de Residus de Catalunya, it operates in a market that generates some 40,000 tons per year in Catalonia alone. Spain's GMN continues to be a success story as it recycles its 7 millionth end-of-life tire. GMN has two facilities: one with 10,000 square meters in Manresa and the other with 40,000 square meters in Maials (Segrià). The initial stage involves collecting and sorting tires from Barcelona and Girona, which are then transported to Maials, where the manufacturing and offices are located. Lleida, Tarragona, and Huesca tires are also delivered here.

Carbon Black is produced by burning fossil fuels, however the market is shifting as the rubber and plastics industries turn to tire pyrolysis as a source of recovered Carbon Black. Smart Tire Recycling (STR), based in Pittsburgh, says that their innovative method yields recovered Carbon Black (rCB), which is equivalent to virgin Carbon Black used in tires. Pyrolysis, which needs high temperatures to transform materials into liquid in the absence of oxygen, has been the primary technology for producing rCB until now. Despite a long history of research and development, meeting the criteria and needed properties for usage as a CB replacement has remained a challenge.

The business strategy of Genan, Europe's largest mechanical tyre recycler, has been impacted by rising energy costs. As a result, Genan has separated energy charges from its process list and will display a quarterly updated energy price scale alongside the materials cost. According to Genan’s CEO Poul Steen Rasmussen, energy prices have been increasing for quite some time, and Genan has been absorbing these significant extra expenditures through 2021. The company says it cannot, however, continue along this path. The Circular Economy requires energy in order to transform end-of-life items into fresh recycled raw materials, and the recycling industry alone cannot meet this demand. Rasmussen says by 2022, Genan will have to enact a portion of this bill as a variable energy surcharge.

Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) has formally submitted an environmental permit application for the recycling plant that the company intends to establish in Uddevalla, Sweden. The application pertained to the establishment of a tire pyrolysis plant on an industrial site in the Lillesjö district of Uddevalla Municipality. The facility would have an initial annual capacity of 30,000 tons of end-of-life tires but the long-term plan for the facility is to process up to 60,000 tons per year. Enviro expects the application process to take up to one year.

The machinery of the Italian tire recycling equipment supplier Salvadori will be used to ensure operations of tire downsizing, and recycling of about 30,000 tons of earthmover tires per year. The Michelin Group selected Salvadori Srl as the supplier for the downsizing system. This new-generation tire recycling plant is to be built in Chile; currently it is under construction in collaboration with Enviro, a Swedish company that has developed a patented technology for recycling tires into recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas using pyrolysis method. The plant will be based in Chile’s Antofagasta region. Salvadori's tire recycling technology will be used specifically to reduce the tire into pieces of predetermined dimensions which will then be further processed in the factory.

Hydrogen Central reports that Linde Engineering committed to work with London-listed Powerhouse Energy and its EU partner Hydrogen Utopia (HUI) to use its technology to convert plastic to hydrogen in a deal struck at COP26. For the next five years, Linde will provide exclusive hydrogen processing services produced at HUI's plants across Europe. A number of factories are already in the works, with the first set to open in the Polish city of Konin by the end of next year, followed by Bulgaria and Greece, an article by Hydrogen Central asserts. There are also plans for locations in the United Kingdom, with the first set to open in the Northwest in two years and another in Scotland to follow. At least 500 jobs are planned to be created in 50 facilities as a result of the proposals.

Arab Times Online report that Hundreds of used tires are discarded everyday in the Amghara scrapyard's vicinity, signaling the emergence of a new "Arrhiya" neighborhood. It also denotes the onset of an issue that, if not addressed early on, could become difficult to resolve in the future, according to the Al-Rai newspaper. This issue is dangerous not just because used tires are discarded illegally, causing environmental pollution, but also because it threatens the campers and livestock near the Amghara scrapyard.