Sustainable Development Goals
PROJECT INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:
Project Status:
Demonstrated conversion; feasibility and scale-up development
Organizations Involved:
Confidential advanced-materials developer; Klean Industries
Services / Equipment:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Packaged Solutions
Its engineered recovered carbon black (rCB) has been successfully converted into graphene. This is the central achievement of a longer commercial strategy: rather than treating tire-derived carbon as a low-value residue, we develop it as an industrial raw material capable of moving into increasingly demanding, higher-value applications.
The opportunity is substantial. Facilities using its technology, including customer projects, collectively produce, distribute and sell more than 100,000 metric tonnes of recovered carbon black. That existing industrial network provides a feedstock-development platform for advanced-carbon manufacturing, though it does not mean that an equivalent amount of qualified graphene is already being produced or could be recovered at a one-to-one yield.
The Challenge
Graphene’s next commercial hurdle is repeatable product quality at industrial scale
Graphene-related materials have already entered commercial production, but individual uses in concrete, coatings, composites, electronics and energy storage require different combinations of purity, layer structure, surface chemistry, dispersion behaviour and delivered cost. A usable carbon source alone does not solve those customer requirements.
Raw tire-pyrolysis char is not graphene. Nor is ordinary recovered carbon black automatically a graphene precursor. The source carbon must be recovered, purified and engineered with the chosen conversion route and final application in mind. Customers then need consistent batches, independent material characterization and a credible supply program.
For an investor, this creates two linked risks: a technically interesting production route without suitable feedstock, or a plentiful carbon stream that cannot consistently achieve the specification or economics required by its target market.
The Solution
Engineer the precursor before scaling the product
We have applied its carbon-recovery and upgrading knowledge to prepare rCB for further conversion, and reports successful graphene conversion testing. The achievement demonstrates that suitably engineered tire-derived carbon can participate in an advanced-material pathway. It does not imply that every grade of char, every rCB producer or every graphene end use can use an identical process.
The underlying carbon science supports the concept. Published research has demonstrated structural reorganization of carbon black and the conversion of recovered carbon black into graphene-related products such as reduced graphene oxide. Our specific preparation method, test data, partners and graphene specifications remain proprietary and are addressed through appropriate engagements.
Build the feedstock and manufacturing systems together
We identify a production-train basis of approximately 10 tonnes of graphene per day and a long-term development ambition of approximately 100,000 tonnes per year through multiple trains. These are program-scale engineering figures, not an assertion that the planned network is already operational. Achieving them requires validated feedstock-to-product yields, train availability, energy requirements, product consistency, customer qualification and binding commercial arrangements.
Our differentiator is therefore broader than a proposed graphene machine. It is the combination of carbon sourcing, upgrading experience, plant engineering and established industrial relationships needed to test whether a technically successful conversion can become a manufacturable product business.
The Outcome
A demonstrated conversion that opens a new commercial value ladder
The documented project milestone is successful conversion testing of engineered rCB into graphene, with feasibility and scale-up assessment continuing. Our prior graphite program illustrates the commercial direction: it has cited recovered carbon at approximately US$1,500 per tonne, graphite for basic battery applications at US$7,000 per tonne, and an estimated US$20,000 per tonne for selected advanced capacitor uses. These are our application-specific historical values, not guaranteed selling prices, operating margins or forecast graphene revenue.
Graphene offers another downstream path for eligible carbon streams. Its eventual value will depend on the exact product manufactured, yield, quality-control results, manufacturing cost and the willingness of identified customers to buy at the required specification. Advanced composites, coatings, specialty concrete and energy applications may present different qualification and scale-up pathways.
We also sees a strategic feedstock opportunity: if advanced carbon markets absorb material rCB volumes, manufacturers competing for well-qualified rCB may face tighter supply. This is our market outlook, contingent on successful commercialization and sustained demand—not a guaranteed change in carbon-black prices.
The enduring achievement is the connection between an industrial recovered-carbon supply base and a technically demonstrated route to a more specialized product. That connection is particularly relevant for project developers deciding whether to sell conventional rCB, upgrade it into graphite, or evaluate graphene and other advanced-carbon applications.
1. Conversion has been demonstrated. Successful conversion of engineered rCB into graphene; the project is progressing through feasibility and industrial scale-up rather than claiming that a 100,000-tonne graphene plant is operating.
2. Access to carbon feedstock creates strategic leverage. A network supplying more than 100,000 tonnes of rCB, offering a potential basis for future advanced-carbon production subject to recovery yields, qualification and supply commitments.
3. The value is in the complete pathway. Choosing the right carbon source, engineering its properties and matching the final material to a paying customer is more commercially important than simply asserting a high graphene selling price.
These are selected achievements and lessons. Further technical and commercial insights are available through an engagement with Klean.
WHAT DO THESE LESSONS MEAN FOR YOUR PROJECT?
A tire-recycling business producing raw char or rCB should assess downstream advanced-carbon opportunities against its real feedstock composition, upgrading requirements, achievable specification and accessible customers. We can help determine which path—industrial rCB, recovered carbon graphite or graphene—fits the feedstock and investment case, without assuming they are interchangeable products.
Discuss Your Recovered Carbon to Graphene Project with Klean >> GO.
For equipment developments, our paid Detailed Equipment Quotation (DEQ) defines the preliminary technology and investment basis, followed where warranted by a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED). Confidential specifications and proprietary process information are considered under an appropriate NDA and engagement.
ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
This case summarizes our reported conversion milestone, historical commercial comparisons and development-scale objectives. Project-specific conversion yields, graphene grades, test characterization, economics and confidential partner details are available only within appropriately scoped engagements. The figures should not be interpreted as an operating graphene facility or a guaranteed financial outcome.
This project addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by considering the goals and associated targets illustrated by the WBCSD’s Tire Industry Project (TIP). TIP provides a framework for action that outlines impactful pathways for the tire sector to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To learn more about how our approach, solutions, and technologies contribute to advancing the SDGs, please review the report “Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap”.
