PARIS: Michelin has announced the construction of its first tyre recycling plant. The facility will be based near Antofagasta in Chile and should be able to recycle around 30,000 tons of tyres per year.
For the occasion, Michelin has joined forces with Swedish company Enviro, which has developed patented technology to recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas from used tyres. The long-term aim is to recycle each tyre entirely at the end of its life.
This first new-generation tyre recycling plant should, in theory, make it possible to recycle 100% of a tyre thanks to this innovative procedure.
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Scrap tyres will be transported to the plant to be cut up and recycled. According to current plans, 90% of the recovered materials are expected to be reused in a variety of rubber-based products, including other tyres. The remaining 10% will be reused to generate heat and power at the plant.
This future tyre recycling plant forms part of Michelin's drive to use a maximum of sustainable materials in the manufacturing of its tyres.
The plant aims to start processing tyres from 2023, recycling 30,000 tons of tyres a year, or nearly 60% of civil engineering tyres scrapped each year in the country. Other plants of the kind are expected to follow.
