The Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG; Tokyo) has launched studies to perform chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) by utilizing the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). The MCG Group aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by March 2026.
Along with the accelerating trend in the tire industry toward using sustainable raw materials, there is a growing need to use recycled carbon black, one of the main raw materials and a rubber reinforcing agent used in tires. By leveraging the MCG Group’s supply chain, crushed ELTs can be fed as raw material into coke ovens to produce carbon black again from the tar. According to the MCG Group’s research, this is the first attempt in the world to produce sustainable carbon black from ELTs using coke ovens. The sustainable carbon black produced has the same performance as conventional carbon black and can therefore be used again in new tires and hence contributes to a closed loop recycling of tires.
MCG is studying a framework for chemical recycling of tires utilizing coke ovens (Source: MCG)
In preparation for commercialization, in July 2024, MCG started demonstration experiments where ELTs are fed into coke ovens. The aim is to sell sustainable carbon black at an annual rate of several thousand tons in 2025, and at an annual rate of tens of thousands of tons in 2030.