News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) and Swedish oil company Nynas AB are launching a joint research project with Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) to develop a process for refining pyrolysis oil recovered from end-of-life tires. As reported by Enviro, refining process will allow the oil to be used in more than fuel, which both increases the value of the recovered oil and reduces the environmental impact. “This project seeks to increase the economic and environmental profitability of both tire pyrolysis and tire recycling in general, and to promote the sustainable conversion of refineries for base oil production,” says Linda Sandström, the project manager at RISE ETC.

An Italian product designer Paolo Gentile has embraced the not-so-common application for recycled scrap tires recently. He decided to create skateboards that contain rubber obtained from waste tires. Gentile, who is a recent graduate of Milan-based Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, branded his sustainable skateboard business ‘Frammento’.

Tire producer Continental A.G will start applying recovered carbon black (rCB) obtained via tire pyrolysis method and produced by German Pyrolyx A.G. after two companies have reached a five-year deal. According to the contract, Pyrolyx will be supplying some 10,000 metric tons of rCB annually to Continental’s facilities in numerous countries. This will help Pyrolyx to increase its sales and grow in North America and eastern Europe as additional plants will be commissioned as part of the agreement.

Tire pyrolysis company from the Netherlands Black Bear Carbon has stated this month that it is ready to construct one more recovered carbon black plant at the Port of Rotterdam. However, Black Bear did not reveal the annual capacity of its anticipated facility. To recover carbon black, end-of-life tires will undergo thermal treatment at the facility as granulate will be decomposed from the waste materials. They will be further applied in production of carbon black and pyrolysis oil.

Over 70 grant applicants will get some $1.2 million of funding from The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to conduct scrap tire community clearance efforts within the state. In addition, the authority will provide funds to sponsor waste tire piles removal at private lands to five more applicants. Scrap tire rubber collected as part of the funded efforts will be further used in road paving projects after undergoing recycling. EGLE also said that waste tires will be transformed into rubber mulch for playgrounds.

A US producer and seller of agricultural matting LRP Solutions (Linear Rubber Products) from Wisconsin is now owned by the recycled rubber compounds giant DRI Rubber. Starting November 1, all businesses functioning under LRP Solutions will be integrated into DRI RUBBER’s USA Division in Ohio. The company’s move to buy LRP Solutions will result in sustainability advancement as the two brands will combine their expertise and innovative techniques boosting the quality of the rubber matting products, according to DRI RUBBER’s official website.

Seven California-based businesses have received over $2 million from California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to fund development of products made out of 1.8 million recycled tires. Shingles, traffic cones, tiles and many other goods will be produced out of the scrap tires. CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline commented on the grant award saying that this move will not only create valuable products but will also support markets for recycled merchandise and promote sustainability.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) reported on 18 October that the global demand for natural rubber (NR) has seen 0.8 percent growth reaching almost 7 million tons, whereas its supply dropped over 8 percent to some 5.8 million tons during the first six months of this year. NR market, however, is still pressured by US-China trade row and unstable situation in Middle East. This can further affect natural rubber trends. There have been speculations on the market that the Fed would have cut rates that would particularly target equity sector. Nonetheless, the Fed kept its rate unchanged. The factor of the US-China trade war forced traders to maintain conservative trading positions.

Bridgestone suggest using rubber granulate to produce dredged clay that has sealing and filling properties, thus boosting cement’s durability and reducing absorptivity. Bridgestone has conducted trials of rubberized clay finding that clay modified with rubber granulate could be used for structures under deformation as cracks formed exclusively around the rubber, therefore they could “prevent the growth of wide cracks”, according the Bridgestone’s manager.