Carbon Black comes from burning fossil fuels, but the market is changing as the rubber and plastics industry start to look to tyre pyrolysis for a recovered Carbon Black solution.
New Tech from Smart Tire Recycling
Pittsburgh based Smart Tire Recycling (STR) claims that its new technology has zero emissions and produces recovered Carbon Black (rCB) that is the equal of virgin Carbon Black used in tyres.
This is not the first time that the recycling industry has heard this claim, it probably will not be the last.
Until now, the leading technology to produce rCB has been pyrolysis, which uses extreme heat to convert materials into liquid in the absence of oxygen. However, despite a long history of research and development there has been an ongoing issue in meeting specifications and required characteristics for use as a CB substitute.
STR says its new green, patented technology corrects the weaknesses of previous pyrolysis attempts, allowing for faster, continuous production and an improved yield of rCB. The company is aiming to be the largest producer of rCB in the next 5 years with production plants located nationwide.
Smart Tire says its team is made up of engineers and scientists as well as finance professionals and is led by CEO and Founder Mendel Bassman, a veteran of the recycling industry.
Board member Raymond Riek has more than 30 years of experience with Monsanto Co. where he was the director of the company’s technology, rubber, and process chemicals division. Lacramioara Schulte auf’m Erley, a Ph.D. who serves as the company’s chief technology officer, started her career as a chemical engineer in the tire industry. Germany-based Martin Von Wolfersdorff is a pyrolysis expert and serves as a consultant to the STR team.
Smart Tire Recycling has already raised more than $750,000 in its first regulation crowdfunding campaign. The company is currently involved in a second crowdfunding campaign that has raised more than $280,000 so far. The campaign involves up to 7 tiers of investment with varying degrees of perks depending on the size of the individual pledge.
Source: Bezinga
