Regulatory Issues In Chemical Recycling Of End-Of-Life Tires By Claus Lamer

Chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELT) through pyrolysis is a recovery operation yielding recovered Carbon Black (rCB) and tire-  demonstrate to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) how the substances can be safely used and communicate the risks to the user.

Chemical recyclers of end-of-life tires are considered both waste managers and manufacturers of new substances and must comply with

The new EU Taxonomy Regulation (EU, 2020) contains the criteria for determining whether an economic activity is classified as ecologically sustainable (Taxonomy). It is a key piece of legislation promoting private investments in green and sustainable projects.

A recent Technical Report cites carbon black manufacturing as accounting for  3.4 percent of  GHG emissions from the European chemical sector, indicating the need for a reduction in emissions from the production of commercial carbon black.

Industrially produced blends of commercial carbon black with recovered carbon black, are technically and commercially mature and improve the ecological footprint of carbon black.

Additionally, tire-derived pyrolysis oil  can substitute for carbon black feedstock in the furnace process thereby reducing emissions during the extraction and refining of crude oil.

Recently, a Sustainability Report from Birla Carbon confirmed that recovered carbon black from ELT pyrolysis, eliminates 3.1 tons of direct and indirect CO2 emissions when compared to conventional manufacturing of carbon black..

In summary we can conclude that, since operations of state-of-the-art chemical tire recycling (pyrolysis) plants are producing environmentally sustainable chemical feedstocks, they are supporting the specified goals of the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, they significantly contribute to the GHG reductions in the manufacture of tires, and they should therefore qualify as a highly sustainable business under the new Taxonomy Regulation.

This article is part of a Weibold Academy series dealing with classification and challenges of chemical recycling of end-of-life tires in the legal framework of the EU and the USA.
To read the full article and other articles about regulatory issues go to www.weibold.com

© Scrap Tire News, January 2022