Mitsubishi Chemical is researching a new method for producing environmentally friendly synthetic rubber

Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) has announced that it is exploring the possibility of chemically recycling used tires using coke ovens at its Sakai plant (Kagawa Prefecture, Japan) and manufacturing eco-friendly technical carbon from this raw material, which is planned to be launched on the market by March 2026.

According to MCG's statement, tire manufacturers are currently striving to switch to more eco-friendly raw materials, resulting in a growing demand for recycled technical carbon used as a reinforcing material in tire production. "With the help of its supply chain, the MCG Group will be able to use crushed used tires as raw materials and produce technical carbon from them," the company notes, adding that, according to available data, this will be the industry's first attempt to establish the production of eco-friendly technical carbon by recycling tires using coke ovens. At the same time, as emphasized by MCG, the recovered technical carbon has the same properties as regular raw materials, which makes it possible to reuse it in tire production.

In July 2024, MCG began testing the new technology, and the company's goal is to realize several thousand tons of eco-friendly technical carbon in 2025 and increase sales volumes to tens of thousands of tons by 2030.