News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

The Bristow tire recycling facility in Australia failed to comply with the environmental rules after massive fire broke out on its site. The local fire crew managed to contain it, however, the plant is now pressured by the Bristow Industrial Authority and the Department of Environmental Quality. The fire incident took place early this month. Almost half of the property has been destroyed as a result of the blaze that was raging for about 2 days.

Eni has signed an agreement with Ecopneus that will evaluate the technologies suitable for scrap tires boost. This move will help to obtain sustainable chemical and energy products. The new project relies on the principles of circular economy. The agreement strengthens the collaboration between Eni and Ecopneus , which have already carried out a project in Massafra (Taranto). During that project, the companies focused on asphalt modified with polymers and rubber powder from scrap tires.The initiative became possible thanks to a deal with the Municipality of Massafra reached in June 2020. Back then, Eni made the bitumen from the Taranto refinery available. Ecopneus, for its part, used its technical know-how for the diffusion of modified asphalts.

Late last month, Weibold reported about the battle of Kuwait authorities with illegal tire dumping site in a desert, the Al Sulaibiya. This is the largest tire dump in the world. The tire crisis has been ongoing for over 30 years. The Environment Public Authority (EPA) in Kuwait was able, according to an official in the authority, to remove 95% of the tires. An EPA official revealed that a big amount of tires has been transferred to alternative lands in Salmi. A massive fire broke out at the famous tire dump in the Al Sulaibiya early this month, Insider Paper reported on 3 August. 7 million fires were engulfed in flames of a massive fire at the world’s largest tire dump at the Al Sulaibiya in Kuwait. It was possible to see the blaze from the satellite images shared via Twitter accounts.

German authorities have endorsed a tire retreading initiative from the Innovation Forum for Tire Recycling (AZUR) that is expected to commence soon. The organizers say that the program will last for two years. According to AZUR, the majority of funding (70 percent) will be provided by the DBU (German Federal Environment Foundation). All other costs needed for the program’s implementation are expected come from several crucial partners that include Marangoni Retreading Systems, Reifen Hinghaus GmbH, Kraiburg Austria and others. The expected program will assess the life cycle of retreaded end-of-life tires and rolling resistance measurements. The organizers of the new initiative are hopeful that it will help to promote the idea that retreaded tires are the perfect examples of sustainable products, and people’s attitude towards their use will become more positive as a result.

On August 5, 2021, a press release by McDermott International informed announced the company has been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract from the Michelin Group in France for an innovative waste tire technology enabling large-scale production of recycled carbon black—a key ingredient in advancing the next generation of sustainable tires. This award follows a similar FEED announcement in April, which is focusing on the production of regenerated styrene to make synthetic rubber for tires. Incorporating Scandinavian Enviro Systems' licensed pyrolysis process, a technology that separates bulky waste into raw materials for repeated production, the implementation of this waste-to-value solution further advances Michelin's commitment to building a circular economy and increasing the demand—and availability—of sustainable materials.

Oman is currently challenged by end-of-life tires as new stockpiles continue to accumulate. The two most troubled areas are Barka and Sur. Even though Oman has functioning tire recycling programs, they are not enough, reportedly, as the scope of the problem is rather big. It is noteworthy that Oman´s neighbour, Kuwait, is also suffering from similar problem with scrap tire dumps.

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), in partnership with the University of Missouri and The Ray, a nonprofit proving ground for sustainable transportation technologies, published this July a state of knowledge report that assessed existing research on the economic, performance and environmental benefits of using ground tire rubber (GTR) in asphalt. The report finds that rubber modified asphalt is a resilient pavement solution to rebuild America’s roadways and a promising sustainable and circular end-of-life market for scrap tires. The report also provides recommendations for additional research to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the technology’s impact.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) has presented a new innovative project that coverts scrap tires into durable, quality concrete for the Sports Turf Industry. This solution for recycled tires has been named Golfelx, the TSA reported on its social media accounts. Golflex uses waste tires and recycles them into rubber crumb that is used in golf development projects. This application is ingeniously used in bunkers as it can improve sand bunker drainage and it has a positive environmental impact.

A German recycler Stadtwerke Osnabrück has revealed plans to construct a tire pyrolysis plant that will consider sustainability principles and process 100 percent of scrap tires in the Germany city of Osnabrück. The plant will be given a name of Pieswerk, and it will rely on a special thermo-chemical process of pyrolysis during recycling. This will help to recover raw materials from scrap tires. The Stadtwerke supervisory board has already given the "green light" to pursue the Pieswerk plans. Stadtwerke CEO Christoph Hüls stressed that the project is still undergoing early stages but his company wanted to make the information public in order to be transparent. He also emphasized that pyrolysis is not well-known among the public but this process “has proven itself many times and that many will certainly also use at home – for self-cleaning of the oven."