Page 152 - CW E-Magazine (24-9-2024)

News from Abroad

ENSURING CIRCULARITY
Marubeni invests in end-of-life tyre pyrolysis recycling

business in Thailand

Japanese trading and investment
business conglomerate, Marubeni Cor-
poration, has invested in Green Rubber
Energy Company Ltd. (GRE), which
is developing an end-of-life tyre (ELT)
pyrolysis recycling business in Thailand.

In pyrolysis recycling, ELTs are
heated in an oxygen-free environment
to break down the rubber components
and produce recycled resources such as
recovered carbon black (rCB) and tyre
pyrolysis oil (TPO). Thirty million tons
of tyres are discarded annually around
the world, and a signifi cant number of
ELTs are disposed of via landfi lling or
incineration, which places a high burden Tyre recycling supply chain to be established by Marubeni in Thailand
on the environment. As a countermea- caused by the inclusion of impurities, but Marubeni subsidiary that procures and
sure, various countries are introducing and GRE claims to have achieved stable pro- sells rubber raw materials and auxiliary
strengthening regulations regarding ELT duction of rCB that can be used for tire materials. Going forward, Marubeni will
disposal. In addition, tyre manufacturers applications. expand the business as a model case to
are aiming to increase the ratio of renew- develop tyre recycling businesses in Japan,
able raw materials in order to realise tyre By investing in the business, Marubeni Southeast Asia, and other countries around
manufacturing that is more considerate aims to build a tyre recycling supply chain the world.
of the global environment. Given this in Thailand, from the collection of ELTs to
background, there is growing attention the production and sale of recycled mate- Marubeni has positioned green stra-
on recycling technologies that reuse ELTs rials such as rCB and TPO. Utilising the tegy as a basic policy for increasing cor-
as tyre raw materials to reduce the envi- Marubeni Group network, Marubeni’s porate value in its mid-term management
ronmental burden. subsidiary B-Quik Co. Ltd., Thailand’s strategy. For the tyre and rubber material
largest car maintenance company, will business, Marubeni aims to build a sustain-
GRE has been working for over 10 supply collected ELTs to GRE, expand the able value chain from the supply of rub-
years on developing technology to ex- range of uses for rCB by purifying it using ber raw materials to the sale of tyres and
tract rCB and TPO through the thermal technology from Germany’s RCB Nano- rubber products. Through the business, the
decomposition of ELTs. Until now, it technologies GmbH, in which Marubeni company hopes to contribute to reducing
was considered technically diffi cult to has invested, and expand sales of rCB the environmental impact of ELTs and
use rCB as a tyre raw material in tyre and TPO by utilising the sales network promote the introduction of renewable raw
manufacturing due to its unstable quality of Marubeni Techno Rubber Co., Ltd., a materials in the tyre and rubber industry.

GREENER CHEMICALS & MATERIALS
Braskem opens ‘Renewable Innovation Centre’ in US

Brazilian petrochemicals major, at accelerating innovation in renewable technology, catalysis, and process engi-
Braskem, has announced the opening chemicals and materials. Capabilities at neering. A particular focus will be given
of its ‘Renewable Innovation Centre’ in the new 35,000-square-foot centre will to early-stage science and engineering
Lexington, Massachusetts, USA, aimed expand Braskem’s competencies in bio- related to the conversion of biomass-

152 Chemical Weekly September 24, 2024

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