INTEGRATED TIRE RECYCLING DELIVERS THE HIGHEST RETURNS BOTH ENVIRONMENTALLY & FINANCIALLY 

Sustainable Development Goals

Project Status:
Completed | Operating Since 2006
Organizations Involved:
Fountain Tire, FIRST, Tire Stewardship BC, Artech Shredders, Tire Remanufacturers, Tire Retreaders & Equipment Suppliers 
Services:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Supply Chain Management, Carbon Management, Packaged Solutions

The Challenge:

According to the Canadian Association of Tire Recycling Agencies ("CATRA"), "In 2018, a volume of 487,470 metric tonnes of scrap tires were recycled in Canada with 26,036 tonnes (5%) consumed as tire-derived fuel ("TDF") and the remainder recycled into various products or shredded for other purposes. Manufacturing and processing facilities in Canada thrive due to the successful tire collection programs nationwide. By contrast, in the U.S., around 272 million ELTs were generated in 2019, with 100 million of these tires (37%) consumed as TDF. Between 2015 and 2019, however, the number of ELTs used as TDF in the U.S. declined as the utilities, pulp, and paper mills moved more toward natural gas.

The primary reasons for the apparent discrepancy in the percentage of ELTs used as fuel in the U.S. compared to Canada are the long-standing environmental concerns of Canada’s provincial governments and pressures for circular economy solutions for ELTs. In Manitoba and some other Canadian provinces where no TDF markets currently exist, the ELTs are mainly recycled within the province, or a small amount is exported to the U.S. or neighboring provinces for use as TDF if provincial market conditions warrant.

By definition, the circular economy does not involve the destruction of finite resources, yet why are scrap tires still being burned as fuel?

• Is it because the current tire recycling systems do not fundamentally address the issue?
• Is it because the current tire recycling systems have produced the same granulated rubber product for the past century, and the marketplace is saturated with crumb rubber?
• Is it because the current methods of tire disposal and infrastructure are old and outdated?
• Is it because tire manufacturers and their supporting supply chain partners don't care about what happens to end-of-life tires?
• Are the best solutions the ones that make the tire problem disappear, such as downcycling solutions that merely kick the can down the road for the next generation to deal with? 
• Is there a lack of transparency in administering this disposal fee/tax, and who gets these subsidies?
• How are these subsidies distributed, and what scorecard is used to evaluate the best solutions before a company receives these subsidies for ideas, projects, or business as usual?
• Is there open disclosure of the financial performance data of these subsidies made available to the public?
• Is there a reason why new technologies and solutions prevent access to scrap tire feedstock in the tire recycling market?

Regarding scrap tire recycling in Canada, the "Stewardship System" is a subsidized tax system where the industry charges consumers a disposal fee or tax when new tires are purchased and/or old tires are disposed of. This disposal fee/tax is a revenue driver for a select few with entrenched interests in the tire retailer sector and the tire recycling industry. 

The Solution:

Klean's depth of experience, combined with its delivery of hundreds of projects worldwide, has consistently demonstrated that the best results are achieved through solutions that replicate Mother Nature's intentions. The concept of waste becoming food for something else is similar to what occurs in a natural ecosystem. This mindset is finally starting to garner the attention it deserves as the circular economy, and that mantra is now heard commonplace almost everywhere. The tire industry needs to undergo a radical transformation and develop symbiosis between the products it manufactures and the waste it generates. The ultimate recycling solution is an integrated solution that includes:

1. Tire remanufacturing/retreading
2. Tire shredding
3. Tire pyrolysis

By combining these proven technologies, tire recyclers can address the most cost-effective recycling value chains. Typically, 75% of the resource costs go into manufacturing tire casings, which provide the structural integrity and durability that hold the tire to the rim. With that in mind, reusing the tire casing should be the top priority, as it has used the most resources and energy to produce. Keeping a tire as a tire for as long as possible is ultimately the best solution for the environment and for preventing excess CO2e emissions from the production of new tire casings. If a casing is not damaged, it can be used as many as 3 to 5 times its initial use, as the tread is easily reproduced onto a used casing. It's estimated that 25% of all scrap tires can be remade through retreading or remanufacturing. 

The waste tires that are unsuitable for remanufacturing or retreading should then be directed to the next process in the value chain: the recovery of resources locked within the scrap tires. This requires a thermal process to extract the commodity value. There is a demand for granulated rubber. However, the market is saturated, and there are still viable, low-value applications for tire shreds beyond burning waste tires as tire-derived fuel. Tire shredding is also a key step in preparing tires for a resource recovery solution such as tire pyrolysis. Tire shredding separates the tire's steel and fiber components, which have ready recyclable markets of value, allowing the pyrolysis process to quickly recover high-value products from the rubber nuggets.

The pyrolysis process is a two-step process. The first process is the thermal breakdown of waste tires, which occurs in an oxygen-free environment. The second step involves upgrading the output product by converting the pyrolysis products into a specified product or products for commercial reuse. The upgrading process produces highly valuable recovered carbon (rCB), where approximately 60% of the value is attributed to recovered fuel oil (rFO), which has similar properties to VLSO 1%, and accounts for approximately 40% of the value. The rCB products from Klean's pyrolysis process are recycled and reintroduced into the rubber and tire manufacturing industry, with some applications in plastic masterbatch production. The rFO products can then be returned to industrial refining processes as a biogenic blendstock for the production of sustainable road diesel and marine fuel applications, as well as a blending stock with carbon black oil to produce new biogenic, virgin-based carbon black. Because scrap tires contain natural rubber during their manufacturing, when we thermally degrade waste tires using pyrolysis, we obtain a biobased content in the rFO, making it 35-40% biomass-based —a highly desirable product that contains bio-oil. This integrated process also has the benefit of offsetting significant carbon dioxide emissions. 

The economics of an integrated tire recycling solution speak for themselves, as shown below. Based on 20% tire remanufacturing and retreading and 80% pyrolysis processing, a Klean Industries "Mobius" closed-loop solution and fully integrated tire recycling plant can generate over $100 million in revenue per year from recycling 10 million scrap tires annually.

The Opportunity – “Closed Loop Solution”

Klean Industries successfully competes with all its competitors for scrap tires, because the products produced by the Klean solution generate significantly higher revenue and profits than those produced by its competitors, enabling Klean Industries to charge less or even pay for feedstock unlike any other tire recycling process with required subsidies and or tire tax to support the economics of the recycling process.

Canadian Tire Stewardship is an example of outdated legislation and Control Mechanisms.

1. Current legislation and administrative control deny the existence or application of new proven recycling solutions;
2. Administration of the recycling levy/tax has been delegated to an industry-based not-for-profit organization with explicit conflicts of interest in maintaining the status quo;
3. Existing sellers and handlers of tire products are not responsible for the environmental costs associated with the disposal or reuse of tires; therefore, they have no economic incentive to ensure an effective ecological outcome.

Conclusions

• Let's build on what we know makes sense using environmental, social, governance (ESG), and economic advantages;
• Let's put an end to scrap tire-derived fuel and the destruction of valuable resources.
• Let's create genuine stewardship vs self-regulation & self-preservation;

The Outcome:

Klean's "Mobius" solution allows producers to dispose of scrap tires at no cost. The result is the preservation of finite resources through the production of the following sustainable commodities (approximate volume):

• Millions of waste tires can be remanufactured and retreaded per year (the highest form of recycling)
• Meeting ESG requirements by incorporating highly valuable recovered carbon black for reuse in the manufacturing of new plastic and rubber products, including tires
• The production of a biogenic-based oil from scrap tires that are 35-40% renewable diesel from natural rubber biomass that can also be blended with carbon black oil (CBO) for the manufacturing of a new "green" virgin carbon black
• Millions of tonnes of carbon emissions can be offset each year
• Thousands of jobs are created in regions that require economic development

If you would like to learn more about this project, please get in touch with us now >> GO.

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 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To learn more about how Klean's approach, solutions, and technologies contribute to advancing the SDGs, please review the report "Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap". See: https://www.wbcsd.org/Sector-Projects/Tire-Industry-Project/End-of-Life-Tires-ELTs