Old tires become new tires

Old tires become new tires

Michelin starts construction of a tire recycling plant with Enviro. The Swedish company, in which Michelin owns a 20 percent stake, has developed a patented technology to recover rubber soot, pyrolysis oil, steel and gas from used tires. The planned site in the Antofagasta region of Chile will recycle up to 30,000 tons of earthmoving machine tires per year. That represents nearly 60 percent of the tires discarded nationwide each year. Construction work, in which Michelin is investing more than $30 million, will begin this year. Production is scheduled to go into operation from 2023.

With the new recycling plant, Michelin is pursuing the circular economy concept and establishing new recycling processes: the used tires are picked up directly from the customer and transported to the production site, where they are shredded and recycled. With the help of Enviro's technology, it is possible to recycle all components of a used tire for reuse. Current plans are to use 90 percent of the recovered materials to make rubber-based products such as tires and conveyor belts. The remaining ten percent goes back into generating heat and electricity for our own needs.