Mitsubishi Chemical to conduct studies on chemical recycling of tires using coke ovens
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group has launched studies to perform chemical recycling of end-of-life (ELT) tires by utilizing the coke ovens at its Kagawa plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). The MCG Group aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by March 2026.
Along with the accelerating trend in the tire industry toward using sustainable raw materials, there
is a growing need to use recycled carbon black, one of the main raw materials and a rubber
reinforcing agent used in tires. By leveraging the MCG Group's supply chain, it is able to feed
crushed ELTs as raw material into its coke ovens and produce carbon black again from the tar.
According to the MCG Group’s research, this is the first attempt in the world to produce sustainable
carbon black from ELTs using coke ovens. The sustainable carbon black produced has the same
performance as conventional carbon black and can therefore be used again in new tires and hence
contributes to a closed loop recycling of tires.
In preparation for commercialization, in July 2024, MCG started demonstration experiments where ELTs are fed into coke ovens.
View of the coke ovens.
The aim is to sell sustainable carbon black at an annual rate of several thousand tons in FY2025, and at an annual rate of tens of thousands of tons in FY2030. By establishing chemical recycling technology for ELTs, the MCG Group seeks to contribute to realizing a circular economy in the automobile and tire industries.
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