Tyre maker Bridgestone Corporation says that it has commenced a Proof of Concept (PoC) for using soft-robot hands to automatically perform piece-picking, the process of picking and transporting individual items, at logistics sites. Bridgestone adds its soft-robotics business is a…
Trelleborg acquires automotive boots supplier in India
Polymer supplier Trelleborg Group has, through its business area Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, signed an agreement to acquire an operation specialising in automotive boots for the fast-growing Indian light vehicles market. The operation is part of the India-based privately owned company…
Birla Carbon to develop biocrude graphite for lithium-ion batteries
Indian carbon black supplier Birla Carbon is collaborating with NC State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Ensyn, The Battery Innovation Center (BIC), and Yale University, to develop and scale-up the production of biocrude-derived graphite for lithium-ion batteries –…
Apollo and Continental Tires to use Tyromer’s ELT rubber
Tyre-to-tyre recycling represents in many cases the most direct and energy efficient way to reuse what is still largely considered and treated as a waste. Tyre rubber compound accounts for over 80% of the CO2 emission from raw material production…
Marangoni sets up franchisee in North India
Italian retreading specialist Marangoni Group, that started its franchising operations in India in mid-2018, has established what it says is its first exclusive franchisee in North India. The business, Manoj Tyres, an existing retreader at Kanpur, one of the largest…
Hainan Rubber to acquire stake in Halcyon Agri
China Hainan Rubber, a state-owned holding company in China listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, has made a cash offer to acquire 574.2 million shares in the capital of Singapore-listed Halcyon Agri Corporation for approximately US$180.9 million. The number of shares…
Michelin and Bridgestone see demand for up to 1 mn tonnes of RCB in 2030
In a joint appeal, tyre manufacturers Michelin and Bridgestone believe that there is the potential for an annual total market of up to 1 million tonnes of recovered carbon black by 2030. The appeal was made at the Smithers Recovered…
Bridgestone awarded US$35 mn from USDA for guayule production
Bridgestone Americas says it has been awarded a US$35 million climate-smart grant by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to further cultivate and scale the use of desert shrub guayule as a sustainable way to expand natural rubber production in…
Asahi Kasei markets BR and S-SBR made from mass-balance method
Japanese chemical firm Asahi Kasei says it will begin the sale of Tufdene S-SBR (solution-polymerised styrene-butadiene rubber) and Asadene BR (butadiene rubber) made using the mass-balance method at Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd. and the Synthetic Rubber Plant…
Pyrowave’s recycled styrene to be used by Michelin in SBR tyres
Canadian recycler Pyrowave says it has reached a major stage having successfully passed Michelin Group’s quality tests with the first 99.8% pure recycled styrene monomer produced from polystyrene waste. Recycled monomer can now be integrated into industrial elastomer batches. For…