News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

On March 18, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it will build a passenger car tire plant in Mexico to strengthen its capacity to supply tires to the North American market. The new plant will have an annual production capacity of 5 million tires, with planned capital investment totaling US$380 million (approx. ¥52.1 billion). Construction of the new plant will start in the second quarter of 2024, and production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2027. The new plant will be built on a site with a total area of about 610,000 square meters, which will be able to accommodate future expansion.

The rubber compounding arm of the HEXPOL Group has announced an investment in a devulcanization line in Europe. This allows them to offer mechanical devulcanization of rubber in-house and supports the transition to a circular economy. For years, HEXPOL Compounding has worked on using cured compound scrap and waste, which are unavoidable side products of rubber part production. In the past, the converter paid for the disposal of their rubber waste, which often ended in landfills or was incinerated. In some cases, rubber waste was ground and reused, but until now, it was mainly used as a filler in low-quality applications. Devulcanization offers an opportunity to keep these valuable resources in circulation and reduce the demand for virgin materials and thus decrease the amount of unused scrap.

The Synthetic Turf Council (STC) – a non-profit trade association serving the synthetic turf industry – has recently shared the latest edition of the STC Guidelines for the Essential Elements of Synthetic Turf Systems, curated to provide reliable guidance on the essential elements for creating an unbiased specification for synthetic turf systems. According to STC, new advertising support helped the assocoation to offer the 2024 edition FREE to download. Feel free to spread the word and take advantage of this valuable resource.

Smithers Carbon Black World conference is back in Europe for its 19th year. The event will take place across the 14-15 May 2024 at the Imperial Riding School in Vienna, Austria. The Carbon Black World conference regularly attracts an international delegation of producers, end-users, and equipment solution providers from across the tire, rubber, plastics, compounds and ink industries to make new connections, share strategic insights, and explore future opportunities in the marketplace with key influencers and decision makers from all aspects of the value chain!

Rubberized asphalt is one of the most significant applications for recycled tyre rubber. In the United States this type of use dates back to the 1950s where today it represents a consolidated market. In Brazil the main highway is using asphalt binders modified by tyre rubber powder, and currently Cbb Asfaltos, a Brazilian company, who received a Green Patent for the process from the Brazilian Government, has the best technology in Latin America for this process.

The initiative Alliance Zukunft Reifen (AZuR) presents itself as a pioneer in tire circular economy at the heart of the "Circular Economy" theme at THE TIRE COLOGNE 2024. From June 4th to 6th, 2024, the international tire and wheel industry will gather at the fair in Cologne to showcase new developments in the field of tires and rims. This year, for the first time, there will be a dedicated section for the "Circular Economy" theme on the platform. 16 AZuR partners will inform visitors about all segments of sustainable tire circular economy at the joint stand in Hall 7.

On behalf of our Clients, we seek partners to establish end-of-life tire pyrolysis facilities in Europe. Our Clients have over a decade of successful commercial experience globally in the end-of-life tire recycling industry. Companies with (any of) the following backgrounds are welcomed:

The Scrap Tire Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (STREF), and the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) to host the 9th Tire Recycling Conference on May 14th - 17th, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Join industry leaders, innovators, and tire recycling enthusiasts from around the world to explore the latest advancements in tire recycling technology, eco-friendly practices, and sustainable solutions. Discover cutting-edge trends, network with like-minded professionals, and be part of the change we all want to see in the world.

Smithers Carbon Black World conference is returning across the 14-15 May 2024 at the Imperial Riding School in Vienna, Austria. Over 200 carbon black representatives are expected to join us in Vienna this May. As one of Europe’s leading carbon black events, the conference provides a much-needed opportunity for delegates to get the latest industry information and network face-to-face with global experts. Companies such as Cabot, Contec, Continental, Ecomak, Konimpex, Makrochem, Mitsubishi are just some of the attendees who already have tickets to this years event, to see who else is attending click here.