Another Tire Giant Aims at Recycled Carbon Black

Sumitomo Rubber Industries and LD Carbon, a South Korean waste tire pyrolysis company, have reached an agreement to commercialize recycling technology to produce sustainable tire raw materials.

In the future, the two parties will jointly develop and use LD Carbon's Green Carbon Black products as partial substitutes for existing fossil fuel carbon black.

LD Carbon and Sumitomo Rubber aim to "commercialize the GCB-774G and GCB-600 series to replace 20% to 70% of existing carbon black (N660), respectively.

In addition, the two parties also plan to promote the commercialization of pyrolysis oil from waste tires.

By 2026, the partners are targeting production volumes of recycled carbon black at 35,000 tons per year and 40,000 tons of pyrolysis oil per annum.

Seoul-based LD Carbon has a patented technology for the production of recycled carbon black (rCB) through the pyrolysis of waste tires. Waste tires are currently being processed at a recycling plant in Kimcheon, South Korea.

In addition, LD Carbon has started construction on a new $38 million recycling plant with tire shredding, pyrolysis and carbon black recovery facilities, and expects to complete the project by the end of next year.

Once completed, the "largest plant in Asia" will produce 200,000 tons/year of recycled carbon black and 200,000 tons/year of pyrolysis oil, LD carbon said.