Murfitts partners with ETIA to produce rCB for tyre makers

Tyre recycling and reprocessing specialist Murfitts Industries announced today its intention to form a “unique partnership” with French engineering group ETIA. The aim of this partnership is to deliver commercial-scale solutions for recycling end-of-life tyres to recover their raw material and energy content.

Murfitts has carried out extensive trials with ETIA’s technology and proven that the process consistently produces a recovered carbon black (rCB) which exceeds the properties of the virgin materials it replaces. Murfitts has tested various formulations to meet a range of exact specifications, with a particular focus on feeding the rCB back into the manufacturing of new tyres, thus completing a circular production process. In addition to the rCB, the process recovers pyrolytic oil and syngas which can be used as low-carbon fuel.

Ready access to tyre feedstock

The partnership is backed by Murfitts’ parent company European Tyre Enterprise Ltd (ETEL) and ETIA parent Vow ASA, an international technology company listed in Norway. Murfitts collects end of life tyres from its ETEL sister companies Kwik Fit and Stapleton’s, as well as other tyre retailers, recovering and processing a total of around 20 million tyres annually. It thus has ready access to the quantities of feedstock required to deliver the tyre sector’s first fully-fledged materials recovery solution on a commercial scale.

ETEL says it is committed to improving sustainability at all stages of the tyre lifecycle and works closely with tyre manufacturers on a variety of development programmes including Project TREE, an initiative to improve the sustainability of natural rubber production in Indonesia. Its programmes are therefore not limited to the UK, and it anticipates that in partnership with Vow the new process could be operating in a range of international markets in the near future.

Potential for rapid international scaling

“This is a major milestone in delivering a commercially viable materials recovery solutions in the tyre sector,” says Mark Murfitt, managing director of Murfitts Industries. “Together we can bring together all the elements required, from reliable feedstock, through proven delivery of precise rCB specifications, to strong relationships with manufacturers. We can deliver a clean sustainable process which generates its own energy to recover valuable raw materials and make significant carbon savings compared to virgin sources. With the backing of ETEL and Vow, we believe the new company could be rapidly scaled internationally and make a significant difference in reprocessing end-of-life tyres around the world.”

(l-r): Olivier Lepez, Vow, Jake Fukuda, ETEL, Henrik Badin, Vow, Mark Murfitt, Murfitts (Photo: Murfitts Industries)

“Together with Murfitts, ETEL and Itochu, we are forming a unique British-French-Japanese-Norwegian partnership,” adds Henrik Badin, chief executive officer of Vow ASA. “We see a huge opportunity for Vow technology and our combined competence and capacity in a rapidly emerging market. We have agreed to come together to offer a truly sustainable method for handling post-consumer tyres and at the same time taking important steps towards decarbonising the tyre industry.”

Contributing to circular society

Itochu Corporation, the parent company of Murfitts and ETEL, has the core policy of “enhancing our contribution to, and engagement with, the SDGs through business activities” at the heart of its Medium-term Management Plan “Brand-new Deal 2023”. Through the commercialisation of recycling end-of-life tyres to deliver rCB in partnership with the VOW Group, Itochu aims to make a major contribution to the realisation of a circular society.