The statistics are staggering – tires and other auto components account for three-quarters of all rubber demand in the EU. Sixty-five percent of end-of-life-tires (ELTs) landfilled and 17.5 percent are incinerated. The Italian project Life Green Vulcan aims to revolutionize tire recycling and reuse with its innovative and environmentally-friendly rubber de-vulcanization process.
This selective rubber de-vulcanization process has enormous potential for extracting raw materials from ELTs. It can then replace almost all the virgin rubber – even in high performance applications, making the products significantly more sustainable.
It’s a highly complex process – but one which has a low environmental impact, eliminates the use of harmful chemicals, uses sustainable materials and reduces both post-production and post-consumption ELT.
The resulting tire waste is turned into compounds which are used to manufacture new tire treads and spring pads for cars and light trucks. The project predicts an astonishing increase of 100 to 400 percent in current recycle and reuse rates, with potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 15 percent for spring pads and seven percent for tire treads.
“Our expectations met reality,” said Francesco Di Pierro, a business developer at project coordinator Innovando. “With our product partners, we’re taking a strategic approach to supplying high quality sustainable rubber for the automotive and tire industries. This project shows we’re serious about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and moving to the circular management of production waste and supply.”
Although Life Green Vulcan officially concludes by the end of February 2024, the project has already shown the European tire industry the potential for reprocessing 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes of ELT granules each year.