Kumho may be the latest tyre manufacturer to use recycled styrene in tyres
Kumho Petrochemical to Work with Agilyx
Agilyx Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS (Euronext Growth (Oslo)) a pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics and Kumho Petrochemical, a global leader in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, have announced a collaboration to explore the development and construction of a chemical recycling project in South Korea.
“We’re very interested in recycling of post-use plastics, while focusing on utilising post-use polystyrene into the pure styrene,” stated Jong-Hoon Baek, CEO of Kumho Petrochemical. “Collaboration with Agilyx will give Kumho Petrochemical an opportunity of proposing new line of eco-SSBR products to most of our customers who prefer sustainable products.”
“We are pleased to partner with Kumho Petrochemical to explore this project and expand the market for post-use recycled polystyrene into new, high growth and technically demanding applications such as this,” stated Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “The potential to use waste plastic to create high performance SSBR for the manufacture of tyres is a very exciting example of our technology’s ability to create a new life for plastic.”
This move confirms the interest of the wider tyre industry in using recycled styrene in new tyres. Both Michelin and Continental have already taken steps to work with partners in the styrene and polythene recovery sector. Kumho taking this step surely indicates that the technology is advanced and more widely accepted in the tyre industry than has been previously thought.
The project will use Agilyx chemical recycling technology to produce pure styrene from post-use polystyrene. This would be used as a virgin equivalent raw material to produce solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR), a key component for the manufacture of tyres.
Agilyx (AGLX) is a leader in the advanced recycling of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics. With Agilyx’s chemical recycling technology, mixed plastic waste or streams of discrete post-use plastics, such as polystyrene, can be converted to new virgin-equivalent plastics, as well as chemical products and fuels – creating the opportunity for true circularity. The company has not only developed these first-to-market products but has also developed a feedstock management company, Cyclyx International, LLC, and is partnering with a range of waste service providers, municipalities, petrochemical, and brand and retail companies to develop closed-loop recycling solutions for mixed waste plastics.
Source: Waste 360