Tire recycling facility planned in Alabama

Taiwan-based CSRC Group and a business unit of the SHEICO Group, also based in Taiwan, are reportedly investing to set up a tire recycling plant in Phenix City, Alabama, that will deploy pyrolysis technology to create three end products.

The CSRC board of directors has approved a plan to partner with the Eco Infinic Co. Ltd., a Thailand-based subsidiary of SHEICO, to enter the recovered carbon black (rCB) business at a site in Phenix City formerly operated by the Houston-based Continental Carbon Co. (CCC).

Production at the reconfigured plant is scheduled to start some time in 2026, and CRSC bills it as being designed “to become one of the largest rCB plants in North America.”

The Alabama site is being designed with an annual capacity to recover 30,000 tons of rCB, 35,000 tons of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO), and 2,300 tons of steel wire. It will be 65 percent owned by Eco Infinic, with CSRC and CCC jointly holding the remaining 35 percent.

CSRC says it is banking on the notion that “in the foreseeable future, major manufacturers will actively increase the proportion of rCB used in tires.”

The firm points to global tire producers Michelin and Bridgestone as having declared within their carbon neutrality frameworks that 40 percent of the materials used in tires will be sustainable by 2030, with the goal of reaching 100 percent by 2050. “They have also initiated actions calling for the expanded use of recovered carbon black,” CSRC says.

Currently, says the Taiwanese firm, the capacity to produce rCB that meets the specifications of tire producers is too limited.

Of the carbon black materials now used in global new tire production, less than 1 percent comes from recycled tires, CSRC estimates.

“The United States, being one of the major producers and consumers of rCB, has already made significant investments in recycling facilities and advanced pyrolysis technology, marking it as an important market that cannot be overlooked," the company says.

CSRC describes SHEICO as having ventured into the field of scrap tire pyrolysis because of “its commitment to developing eco-friendly materials for wetsuits.”

SHEICO has been significantly involved in the rubber and rCB production processes through its subsidiary in Thailand for many years, and the Thai government recognizes this initiative as a model project for the circular economy, with an annual processing capacity of 35,000 tons of scrap tires that is still expanding, according to CSRC.

CSRC also bills SHEICO as among the few companies internationally that possess the capability for mass production of rCB at a high quality.

“The establishment of this joint venture not only aims to jointly enter the U.S. rCB market, but also helps clients reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption, achieving the goal of carbon neutrality across the industrial chain," the company says.

The performance of CSRC’s own rCB is close to virgin carbon black, and it has already been adopted by Xiamen, China-based tire manufacturer Cheng Shin for use in bicycle tires, according to the firm.

CSRC also has deployed technology that has allowed it to produce eco-circular carbon black for use in the printing and coatings sectors, including for some major electronics manufacturers.