Bridgestone to Build Pilot Pyrolysis Plant

Bridgestone intends to build a pilot plant for the pyrolysis of used tires at its industrial complex in Seki (Gifu Prefecture, Japan). The plant is scheduled to be launched in 2027 with the goal of implementing horizontal recycling (when the same product is made from recycled products) of old tires. The facility will utilize optimized pyrolysis technology, and pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black (rCB) will be obtained from recycled tires.

The company has been working in the field of chemical tire recycling since 2022. In 2023, an experimental pyrolysis unit was launched at the Bridgestone Innovation Park (BIP) in Kodaira (Tokyo Prefecture), and the development of technologies for obtaining oil and rCB from recycled tires is currently underway. The oil can be used in the production of chemical products such as butadiene, which is used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, a raw material for the tire industry, just like technical carbon.

The new plant will implement pyrolysis technology (thermal decomposition of tires in an oxygen-free environment), whose capabilities have been tested at BIP, and in the future, Bridgestone intends to create methodologies for mass production of oil and technical carbon from recycled tires using "stable and continuous operational processes and quality control".

The construction of the pilot plant is part of a joint project between Bridgestone and the ENEOS corporation aimed at developing the tire recycling industry in Japan. The rCB obtained at the new facility will be used to develop a technology that will allow the production of eco-friendly technical carbon (eCB), and this work will be carried out within the framework of another joint project implemented by Bridgestone together with Tokai Carbon company, which is being implemented.

The construction of the new plant is scheduled to begin in November 2025 (exact dates will be determined later), and its capacity will be approximately 7,500 tons of recycled tires per year.