An inaugural assessment by EcoVadis has resulted in a Silver Medal for Pyrum Innovations AG. The sustainability ratings provider awarded Pyrum, which has patented a pyrolysis technology for the sustainable recycling of end-of-life tyres, an overall score of 59 points. This places Pyrum amongst the worldwide top 25 per cent of all companies in its industry assessed by EcoVadis.
Through a new partnership agreement with the Siemens technology group, Pyrum Innovations AG anticipates the further promotion, optimisation and scaling of its pyrolysis plants for processing end-of-life tyres (ELT). Pyrum will utilise technology from Siemens’ digitalisation and automation portfolios, with Siemens supporting Pyrum and its customers in the selection of optimal process automation, process analytics, drive and digitalisation technologies, amongst other things.
Carlton Forest Renewables reports that its pyrolysis plant, the first continuous pyrolysis plant for end-of-life tyres (ELTs) in the UK, is just “days away” from becoming fully operational on a 24/7 basis. The plant at Carlton Forest’s Worksop site in Nottinghamshire has the capacity to process one tonne of tyre crumb each hour, producing approximately 3.6 million litres of tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO) each year and around 2,500 tonnes of carbon char.
Carlton Forest reports that it has begun a cold testing phase at what it refers to as “the UK’s first continuous pyrolysis plant” located at the company’s Worksop site. That announcement, which was published on 13 May 2022, will be followed by “full operation launch” later in May.
Under an expanded cooperation, end-of-life tyre (ELT) recycling equipment manufacturer Eldan Recycling A/S and pyrolysis technology developer Pyrum Innovations AG will include each other’s products in their complete recycling solutions. The Danish and German firms say they’ll distribute these solutions “actively”.
In October 2021, Linglong Tire established a strategic cooperation with China-based renewable resources company Cleantire. The tyre maker declares that it was thus the “first tyre company in the world to achieve a strategic alliance with a waste tyre recycling company,” and although others may contest this title, the partnership is nonetheless significant. Linglong chairman and president, Wang Feng, signed a further comprehensive strategic cooperative agreement with Jiang Young, president of Cleantire, during an online ceremony at the start of April 2022.
Pyrolysis end-of-life tyre recycler Pyrum Innovations AG has appointed Kai Winkelmann its chief financial officer. Starting 1 April 2022, the company’s former commercial director takes on the role for a period of three years. Winkelmann has also joined the Pyrum Executive Board.
Tyre recycling and product recovery specialists Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) is has noted “a sharp increase of interest in purchasing the carbon black and oil that Enviro recovers from end-of-life tyres” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Interest has been observed “among old and new customers”, but the company has not commented on what this means in terms of specific orders.
Continental AG has signed a development agreement with tyre pyrolysis firm Pyrum Innovations. Continental has held “a strategic minority stake” in Pyrum since its IPO in 2021. The new deal means, among other things, high-quality recovered carbon black (rCB) is to be obtained for Continental’s tyre production. Continental’s subsidiary, Reifen-Entsorgungsgesellschaft (REG), will begin supplying end-of-life tyres from the premium manufacturer to Pyrum this month. In the long term, the aim is to establish a circular economy concept for the recycling of end-of-life tyres.
During the first week of March, Wastefront announced it has entered a strategic partnership with electric vehicle tyre-focused tyre brand Enso. The deal will see Enso incorporate Wastefront’s recycled carbon black (rCB) in its tyres from 2024. Wastefront will also provide UK-based Enso with a recycling outlet for its used tyres, as part of its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
At the end of January, Wastefront AS received permission to press on with plans to construct the ‘UK’s greenest tyre recycling plant’ at the Port of Sunderland. Construction on the development is expected to begin this year (2022), with company executives confident that the plant will be in commercial operation by 2024, creating around 100 skilled jobs.
Klean Industries Inc partner Pyrolysis Hellas SA (PHS) has completed Phase II of a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece. It is now entering the final Phase III and permits have been awarded by the Greek Authorities. According to the two companies, the plant will be the first tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece.
On 17 February 2022, Cheshire Fire Service sent two crews to tackle “a blaze at a tyre recycling site in Ellesmere Port”. The fire engines from Ellesmere Port and Powey Lane attended the scene in Canalside, Ellesmere Port not far from the Stanlow oil refinery.
Sustainability has risen to become the leading mobility trend over the last few years, and the drive towards greater levels has permeated every major corner of the tyre business. While the focus of pro-environment efforts in the tyre business has often fallen to the tyre recovery sector, developing a Circular Economy necessitates a more holistic industrial input, from raw materials suppliers to manufacturers, from the environmental effects of the tyres in use to the material and energy it is possible to recover from end-of-life tyres. Recognising the fundamental place this theme has in our industry, this month Tyres & Accessories presents the latest news and analysis in the sustainability space, beginning with a general overview of developments in the recycling sector from the British Tyre Manufacturers Association (BTMA)’s perspective.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems shares that it has received a recovered pyrolysis oil order worth SEK 2 million (approximately £158,000) from the subsidiary of a leading US oil company. The purchaser hasn’t been named but Enviro describes it as “one of the five largest oil companies in the US.” The oil company intends to carry out production tests with the oil at one of its refineries in Europe, with this testing determining the oil’s suitability as feedstock for producing various biofuels.
Carlton Forest
Enviro
Continental
Enso
Wastefront
PHS
Cheshire Fire Service
Ellie Burgin; Pexels