News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

The Tyre Recovery Association's 2023 Briefing Day is set for September 13th at Leamington Spa's Woodland Grange Hotel. Robert Weibold – an internationally renowned expert in the field of tire recycling and tire pyrolysis – is attending the event. During the meeting, Robert Weibold will speak about the Prospects for Tire Pyrolysis. If you would like to connect with Robert Weibold, discuss business opportunities or request information on consulting services, please send your inquiry at sales@weibold.com.

The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) teams up with DENUO, the Belgian waste management and recycling federation, to shine a spotlight on car recycling during the European Recycling Conference 2023 in Brussels on September 28, 2023. According to EuRIC, the automotive industry is going through a major revolution. By 2035, combustion engine vehicles will be phased out and replaced by electric vehicles (EVs).

Valebridge Media Services (VMS), the organizers of the 2023 Recircle Awards, the event organized to promote and recognise sustainable innovation, production processes, management and services in the tire retreading and recycling sector, have revealed the final four award categories for the 2023 event. This year these four categories will be judged by the 14-strong Nominations Committee, which consists of independent industry experts, primarily industry journalists and trade association professionals.

REVYRE GLOBAL – a rubber polymer recovery and re-processing business for end-of-life tires based in New Zealand – announced that the company has landed on and signed off a lease agreement, for REVYRE’s first manufacturing facility in Auckland, New Zealand. REVYRE GLOBAL is excited to embark on a journey to convert end-of-life tires, previously destined for landfill or stockpiling in New Zealand. The company plans to upcycle these tires into everyday sustainable and environmentally conscious usable products, for localized consumption, so they can be re-recycled again, contributing to the circular economy.

Hercules Global SARL, a manufacturing company based in Sandiara, Senegal, has successfully concluded the construction of a recycling facility within the Sandiara Special Economic Zone (SEZ). This new plant utilizes advanced technology to transform motor oil and end-of-life tires into automotive lubricants and carbon black powder. The Sandiara plant encompasses three distinct units: a lubricant mixing facility with an annual capacity of 3 million tons, a tire-to-carbon black powder conversion plant, and an aluminum alloy plant capable of producing 10,000 metric tons per year.

Mathe Group, a South African company that recycles radial truck tires, has obtained a new Waste Management License for its new tire recycling facility worth over R65 million. The facility will complement its successful existing operation. Dr. Mehran Zarrebini, CEO of Mathe Group and its sister company Van Dyck, reveals ongoing negotiations with a potential investor, with the final investment amount contingent on the technology chosen. Simultaneously, Mathe Group is expanding its current facility, set to be operational in August. This expansion will boost their rubber crumb output from 25-30 tons to 45 tons and increase tire recycling from 700 radial truck tires daily to approximately 1,000 per day.

Conveyor belts, a common waste product in Australia, are targeted for transformative recycling efforts by Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA). According to TSA’s recent report, the company seeks to revolutionize the disposal practices of the bulk handling industry, which often sends used conveyor belts to landfill due to challenges in recycling these materials. With approximately 60,000 to 85,000 tons of conveyor belts generated annually, less than 1% are currently recycled, primarily due to their complex composition and handling difficulties.

In a recent study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled a novel energy storage solution that harnesses the power of two of humanity's most familiar materials: cement and carbon black. These materials, when combined and integrated with water, create a supercapacitor — an alternative to traditional batteries — with the potential to revolutionize the field of renewable energy storage. The researchers envision a range of applications for this innovative energy storage system. For instance, they suggest that this supercapacitor could be seamlessly incorporated into the concrete foundation of buildings, enabling the storage of a full day's worth of energy without significantly altering construction costs or compromising structural integrity. Furthermore, the concept of embedding this technology into concrete roadways has been proposed, offering the potential for contactless recharging of electric vehicles as they traverse these roads.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. announced a collaboration with Sumitomo Riko Company Limited and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. This initiative is designed to further the development of recycling technologies, paving the way for a circular economy. In November 2022, Sumitomo Riko announced a joint development agreement with LanzaTech Global, Inc. (LanzaTech), a US-based carbon recycling firm known for its expertise in carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology. The three Sumitomo companies will join forces with LanzaTech aiming to pioneer groundbreaking technologies that enable a circular economy, transforming waste materials, including rubber, resin, urethane, and metal, into valuable resources.