Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) has launched research to chemically recycle of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) by utilising coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant in Sakaide City, Japan.
The MCG aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by March 2026. The recycled carbon black has the same performance as conventional carbon black and can be used in the production of new tyres.
Raw material
According to a company press release, ‘By leveraging the MCG’s supply chain, it is able to feed crushed ELTs as raw material into its coke ovens and produce carbon black again from the tar.’
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 2025, and tens of thousands of tonnes by FY2030.
Earlier trials
MCG suggests this is the first attempt in the world to produce sustainable carbon black from ELTs using coke ovens, but Tyre and Rubber Recycling notes similar trials at a Coalite plant in Derbyshire, UK but the company collapsed in 2004 before the trials were completed.
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