Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) says it is undertaking studies to perform chemical recycling of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) by utilising the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). It aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by 2026.
Coke Ovens Crushed ELTs
Along with the accelerating trend in the tyre industry toward using sustainable raw materials, there is a growing need to use recycled carbon black—one of the main raw materials and a rubber reinforcing agent used in tyres.
By leveraging its supply chain, the firm says it is able to feed crushed ELTs as raw material into its coke ovens and produce carbon black again from the tar.
According to its research, this is the first attempt in the world to produce sustainable carbon black from ELTs using coke ovens. The sustainable carbon black produced has the same performance as conventional carbon black and can therefore be used again in new tyres and hence contributes to a closed loop recycling of tyres, it claims.
In preparation for commercialisation, in July 2024, MCG started demonstration experiments where ELTs are fed into coke ovens. The aim is to sell sustainable carbon black at an annual rate of several thousand tonnes in FY2025, and at an annual rate of tens of thousands of tonnes in FY2030.