Thermo-Mechanical Upcycling

Researchers have combined crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres with recycled polyethylene plastic through thermo-mechanical upcycling, producing a high-performance asphalt modifier with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

How the Thermo-Mechanical Process Works

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling details how crumb rubber recovered from waste tyres is blended with recycled low-density polyethylene (RLDPE). A thermo-mechanical activation process applies heat and shear to fuse the two waste streams into a single thermoplastic rubber-polyethylene elastomer. The resulting modifier is engineered to improve asphalt performance while cutting the greenhouse gas emissions tied to road construction materials. Because the route relies on mechanical energy and controlled heat rather than aggressive solvents, it offers a relatively clean way to carry two hard-to-recycle streams into a high-value construction material.

Why Waste Tyres and Plastic Belong Together

End-of-life tyres and discarded plastic film are two of the most persistent material streams in the waste hierarchy. On their own, each poses storage and contamination challenges, and both are routinely stockpiled or sent to landfill. Combined through thermo-mechanical upcycling, they become a durable additive that displaces virgin polymer and lowers the embodied carbon of asphalt. Klean Industries works across both streams, turning end-of-life tyres into marketable commodities and recovering value from mixed solid waste.

Lower-Carbon Asphalt, Practical Recovery Routes

The study frames tyre-derived crumb rubber as one of several productive outlets for scrap tyres. Rubberised asphalt is already an established road-surfacing practice, and crumb rubber is prized for the durability and resilience it lends to pavement. Alongside crumb rubber, thermal routes such as pyrolysis recover recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil, each with its own industrial market. Together these pathways give processors multiple ways to divert tyres and plastics from landfill while supplying the road-building and rubber industries with lower-carbon feedstocks.

A Circular-Economy Fit for Waste-to-Value

Thermo-mechanical upcycling sits squarely inside the circular-economy model that Klean Industries champions across its waste-to-value, tyre pyrolysis, plastic pyrolysis, waste-to-energy, and recovered carbon black pillars. Recovered carbon black, for example, displaces virgin carbon black in rubber compounding, closing the loop on a material that would otherwise be mined and manufactured at higher carbon cost. Technologies such as Klean’s TyreNova pyrolysis platform extend the same logic, converting end-of-life tyres into reusable outputs rather than waste.

From Research to a Viable Project

New material science like this matters most when it can be translated into a bankable processing operation. Klean Industries supports project developers with feasibility studies that assess feedstock supply, technology fit, and commercial viability before capital is committed. Turning a promising upcycling route into a working plant starts with a grounded technical and economic evaluation.

Learn More:

• Tyre Pyrolysis Projects
• Recovered Carbon Black
• Pyrolysis Oil Recovery
• What Is Tyre Pyrolysis?
• What Is Recovered Carbon Black?
• Feasibility Studies

Turn Waste Tyres Into Value

Whether your interest is crumb rubber, recovered carbon black, or pyrolysis oil, Klean Industries designs and supports the processing systems that make waste-to-value projects work.

Ready to evaluate a tyre upcycling project?

Contact Klean Industries about tyre upcycling and recovery » GO.