Raw Materials
In November Michelin announced it would lay off 176 workers at two Spanish plants in response to forecasted weak demand, and this month it will – albeit for an entirely different reason – halt production at four facilities within the country for a two-day period.
Versalis has decided to permanently close its Grangemouth chemicals plant in Scotland due to a significant downturn in demand for elastomers. This announcement came a month after Petroineos, owner of the Grangemouth oil refinery, confirmed it would cease operations in 2025.
Asahi Kasei reports that, together with an affiliated company, it has acquired ISCC Plus sustainability certification for several products, including Asaprene solution polymerised SBR for applications such as tyre treads and casings.
Synthetic rubber producer Synthos has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with OMV, an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas, and petrochemicals company. Under the MOU, the two firms will cooperate on the long-term supply of sustainable raw materials, with a focus on sustainable butadiene for synthetic rubber used in tyre manufacturing.
Tyre makers often refer to the ‘race to road’ technology transfer when talking about motorsport engagements, but ‘race to loading bay’ is something that perhaps only Continental can claim bragging rights for. The tyre maker is using carbon black from recycled racing tyres in its production of solid tyres.
Kumho Tire has developed a tyre made from 80 per cent sustainable materials. The manufacturer said the tyre, which replaces petrochemicals with sustainably sourced and recycled materials, represents a step towards its goal to develop products made entirely of sustainable materials by 2045.
Birla Carbon celebrated the 65th anniversary of its Cubatão Plant in November 2023. Located in the state of São Paulo, 12 kilometres from the seaport city of Santos, the Cubatão plant has reportedly played a crucial role in Birla Carbon’s global operations.
Kumho Tire and synthetic rubber manufacturer Synthos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the joint development of sustainable tyre raw materials. Under the MOU, the two companies will conduct a joint research and development project for Neodymium-Butadiene rubber using Bio-Butadiene and expand the use of environmentally friendly synthetic rubber in tyre manufacturing.
Birla Carbon is celebrating the 65th anniversary of its Cubatão Plant. Located in São Paulo, Brazil, 12km from the seaport city of Santos, the plant is crucial to Birla Carbon’s global operations, contributing to the company’s position as a key player in the carbon black industry in the South American market, the company said.
Pyrum Innovations has dropped plans to build a pyrolysis tyre recycling plant at Homburg, in Germany’s Saarland – but is still confident of setting up its second facility within the originally-announced timeframe, more or less. The company has already identified a potential new location.
A scientific study conducted by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute highlights the CO2 savings the pyrolysis process offers over conventional means of tyre recycling. Titled ‘A comparative life cycle assessment of tyre recycling using pyrolysis compared to conventional end-of-life pathways’, the study contrasts Pyrum Innovations’ pyrolysis process against three other end-of-life tyre disposal methods.
Xingda has shared its vision on sustainability with stakeholders at the annual Xingda Global Forum, unveiling its goals for 2030 and its plans to “facilitate green and low-carbon transformation with digital technology and intelligent manufacturing”.
Vaculug is using lignin as a protective agent in its compounds. The company described the integration of the sustainable material into its production process as an “innovative approach” that “marks a significant milestone in the quest for eco-friendly solutions in the tyre industry”.
WMG at the University of Warwick in Coventry and Canada’s University of Victoria are the joint recipients of the inaugural Synthos Rubber Circularity Award, an international competition launched earlier this year to encourage cutting-edge ideas and solutions that significantly improve the environmental performance of synthetic rubber-based tyre compounds. Announcing the winners, Synthos states that the researchers impressed with their “breakthrough technology research concept” but did not elaborate on their work.
Orion S.A. has celebrated the completion of its first greenfield project – a carbon black plant in eastern China that will supply fast-growing demand in Asia. The facility in the city of Huaibei in Anhui province will produce carbon black for a variety of applications, including rubber, polymers and fibres. The site’s two production lines have a total capacity of 70 kilotons per year.
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