News and feature articles relating to recycling, including collection, of end of life tyres.
When Michelin launched its e.Primacy range in mid-November 2020, the French tyre manufacturer did so in the context of a goal to make all Michelin tyre 100 per cent sustainable by 2050. So how does Michelin plan to achieve this? One answer is the company’s expanding partnership with Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro), details of which were recently released (see separate article). But there are other parts of this plan.
Further details of Scandinavian Enviro Systems’ cooperation with Michelin have been revealed alongside a formal notice ahead Swedish firm’s EGM on the subject of its strategic partnership with Michelin. They include an overview of: licensing rules, percentage ownership of the two companies Chile recycling joint venture and how much Enviro is investing in that project.
As we have all witnessed during the last 12 months, the recycled tyre business is experiencing something of a renaissance at the moment. And the abilities of wondering molecule graphene are well-documented. But what happened when you combine the two? The answer, according to one Greater Manchester-based startup is SpaceMat.
Wastefront recently appointed Norwegian international accredited registrar and classification society DNV GL to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment for Wastefront’s proposed tyre to hydrocarbon plant in Sunderland. The Sunderland plant, which was announced last summer and which will be delivered in association with Devaltec LLC, is due to be completed in 2023. Now Wastefront’s Sunderland plant is roughly two years away from operation, the company has shared some of the primary base-case scenario findings from the report with Tyres & Accessories.
Michelin is investing US$30 million in building its first tyre recycling plant in the world in Chile. The project is the result of Michelin’s ongoing collaboration with Enviro, a Swedish company that has developed a patented technology to recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas from end-of-life tyres.
Located in Chile’s Antofagasta region, the plant will be able to recycle 30,000 tons of earthmover tyres a year, or nearly 60 per cent of such tyres scrapped every year nationwide. Work will begin this year, with production scheduled to get underway in 2023.
We’ve all heard of tyre-derived oil and rubberised tarmac, but what about tyre-utilising concrete? Australian researchers have developed a new technology to manufacture concrete made from recycled materials including tyres that is stronger and more durable than the traditional product.
SSH Recycling Ltd has submitted a planning pre-application to Renfrewshire council in a bid to build a tyre devulcanization and processing plant in Linwood, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
The project is what the company describes as “the first of its kind in the UK” and is intended to “solve the entirety of Scotland’s waste tyre problem, using revolutionary new technology to recycle or reuse every component part of the tyre”. However, SSH’s process will support the devulcanisation of treated rubber in order to create synthetic rubber sheet, conveyor belts, shoe soles or rubber mats.
The new TRA Pyrolysis Group held its first meeting on 26 January 2021 attended by 16 of the association’s members. The meeting identified a number of common interests and objectives ranging from feedstock monitoring, the clear need to influence future regulation governing pyrolysis operators as well as complex issues such as ‘end of waste’ status and planning constraints.
Finnish manufacturer Nokian Tyres says it wants to develop and present a concept tyre entirely produced from renewable and recycled tyres by 2025. It hasn’t yet shared specific project details, but it appears this 100 per cent eco-friendly concept may well be a winter tyre. Nokian’s announcement creates this impression, at any rate.
Greenergy is investing in creating low carbon fuels from waste tyre feedstock. According to the company, the project will utilise pyrolysis and hydrotreating technologies to convert waste tyres into renewable drop-in advanced biofuels that can be used in diesel and petrol and qualify as development fuels under the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. The plant will also have the capability to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Klean Industries Inc has been engaged to complete a “Detailed Feasibility Study” to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece with Pyrolysis Hellas SA. For the past few years, the two companies have been working together to explore the possibilities of cooperation for the rollout of several facilities through the European Union. With the initial round of funding now completed, both parties are ready to engage upon the next stages of development, feedstock procurement and site design, as a suitable site has been secured and planning permission is underway.
Versalis, the Eni-owned elastomer-maker, and AGR, a devulcanization specialist, have signed an agreement to develop products and applications of recycled rubber. According to the two companies, the aim of the November 2020 agreement is to pool their expertise to develop elastomer-based products made from granulated rubber from post-consumer products in order to meet the circular economy needs of manufacturers of tyres and other rubber products.
Retreading solutions lie at the heart of Bridgestone Corporation’s new Sustainability Business Framework. Announcing details of the framework’s “retread centric model”, chief executive officer Shu Ishibashi shares that the tyre maker plans to utilise tyre monitoring technologies in order to offer customised retreads via a subscription model.
On 22 December, Scandinavian Enviro Systems and Michelin agreed on the principle terms for establishing a first jointly owned recycling plant and a license agreement regulating the terms of use for Enviro’s recycling technology as well as subsequent compensation. At the same time, the agreement details that compensation applies to the first plant as well as for any future plants that Michelin might decide to build.
2020 has seen increased interest in tyre pyrolysis in the UK and beyond. In response, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) is launching a sub-group of interested members to address a number of matters of common importance. The sub-group’s first meeting is scheduled for January 2021.
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Michelin
SpaceMat
Wastefront
Michelin; Enviro
RMIT
SSH Recycling
Enviro
Greenenergy
BASF
ManfredRichter; Pixabay
Shaun Flannery/shaunflanneryphotography.com