Raw Materials
Falken tyre brand manufacturer Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has a new means of verifying supply chain transparency for the natural rubber it utilises. Its procurement company Sumitomo Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd. been using the Rubberway solution since July 2023, and SRI emphasises that “being part of this industry initiative will accelerate sustainable procurement of natural rubber.”
German end-of-life tyre (ELT) recycling specialist Pyrum Innovations AG plans to build a Pyrum pyrolysis plant in the Czech Republic together with a local energy company. This facility, located near the border with Germany, will have the capacity to process 20,000 tonnes of ELTs a year and is scheduled to start operations in 2025.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) reports having developed a new type of recovered carbon black with improved dispersion properties. It developed this new type of carbon black to meet demand from the tyre and rubber industry and has produced the material at its plant in Åsensbruk, Sweden ”for some time” now.
In addition to featuring the Elect marking on the sidewall, the P Zero E is the first Pirelli tyre to wear a new logo that identifies it as a product containing at least 50 per cent sustainable materials. This new marking depicts two arrows in a circle and will also be present on future tyre models made from half or more bio-based and/or recycled materials.
Risorce, a Belgian company active in the transportation and trading of end-of-life tyres, has closed a 12.5 million euro round of financing to fund a new end-of-life tyre recycling plant in Liège Province. This facility will utilise the pyrolysis process and have the capacity to process 2.4 million tyres a year, around half the waste car tyres collected in Belgium.
Birla Carbon is participating at RubberTech China 2023 from 4 – 6 September 2023 at Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai, China. Birla Carbon will exhibit at Hall N3, Booth 3B459.
Jiangsu Xingda, a leading tyre cord supplier, registered an 11 per cent growth in sales volume in the first half of 2023. Within the overall sales increase, steel cord sales grew by nearly 12 per cent, bead wire sales grew by 6 per cent, and hose wire sales grew by 12 per cent.
Pirelli signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Hevea-Tec, the largest independent processor of natural rubber in Brazil, for “around 21 million euros”. Following regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close by the end of 2023. Pirelli reports that the acquisition will not impact the 2023 net financial position target of around 2.35 billion euro.
Bicycle tyres are generally beyond the Tyrepress.com remit, but we’re making an exception for a product billed as the first of its kind with a “closed-loop product cycle.” In addition to being made from 100% Fair Rubber, the Schwalbe Green Marathon contains around 50% renewable & 20% recyclable raw materials. This 20% includes all carbon black used in the tyre.
By December 2023 Solvay will have been separated into two independent publicly listed companies, with its tyre silica business belonging to the firm focusing on essential chemicals. The names of these upcoming companies are Solvay and Syensqo.
Following the final investment decision by Aramco and TotalEnergies to build a joint venture petrochemical facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, Arlanxeo announced it would set up a 140 ktpa plant nearby to produce Ultra High cis Polybutadiene (NdBR) for tyre treads as well as Lithium Butadiene Rubber (LiBR) for use in plastics. Construction is scheduled to start next year and Arlanxeo expects commercial operations to commence in 2027.
The “most sustainable” Continental tyre to date will arrive next month. With up to 65 per cent renewable, recycled and mass balance certified materials, the Continental UltraContact NXT “combines a high share of sustainable materials with maximum safety and performance.”
Bridgestone Corporation recently began producing oil and recovered carbon black through the pyrolysis of end-of-life tyres at a test facility in Japan. The tyre maker is operating this unit within the Bridgestone Innovation Park in Kodaira City, Tokyo as part of a joint project with Eneos Corporation.
Nokian Tyres is taking part in a research project that aims to improve the quality and yield of recycled carbon black from end-of-life tyres, with the goal of using this material more extensively in tyre and rubber products. The two-year development project is coordinated by Windspace Group A/S and co-financed by government initiative the Danish Eco-Innovation Program.
Following on from its development of agricultural tyres with 75% sustainable materials, Apollo Tyres has now achieved the same goal with passenger vehicle tyres. These tyres – an Apollo Amperion high-performance tyre for electric vehicles and an Apollo Aspire 4G+ ultra-high performance car tyre – are not commercially available at present.
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