Plant for sustainable tyre recycling to be built

SUEZ has plans to build a tyre recycling plant using Pyrum’s patented pyrolysis technology which saves up to 72 per cent of CO2 emissions in the process when compared with current recycling methods.

Over the coming 12 months, the agreement with Pyrum Innovations will see SUEZ identify a location for the first plant and initiate the approval process with support from Pyrum. The planned plant will comprise three pyrolysis reactors with a recycling capacity of around 20,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres per year.

Around 50 million tyres (480kt) are disposed of in the UK, currently 13.4 million of these are used as alternative fuel, with the remaining tyres shredded and ground into a new material called crumb which is used on sports pitches or playgrounds - the rest are sent for energy recovery or to landfill.

During the pyrolysis process, tyres are separated into their component raw materials – oil, carbon black, and pyrolysis gas. The carbon black is re-used in the manufacturing of new tyres, the oil is taken by BASF and recycled into new products and the Pyrolysis gas is used to power the plant.

Through the partnership with SUEZ, the Germany-based Pyrum Innovations AG is expanding its extensive and promising pipeline for developing pyrolysis plants across Europe.

In partnering with Pyrum, SUEZ is tapping into the UK's recycling market for end-of-life tyres, where more than half of used tyres are currently not recycled.

SUEZ brings to the project its track record in providing resilient and innovative solutions for its customers' waste, with its significant expertise and experience in delivering new infrastructure, from design through to operation. Elsewhere in the Group, SUEZ is innovating with pyrolysis technology in its water business, leading a research program to evaluate the benefits of pyrolysis for treating sewage sludge to capture carbon.