The BLACKCYCLE project, initiated by Michelin, co-financed by the EU Horizon 2020 programme and involving 12 organisations from five European countries, has been a huge success for four reasons:
The BLACKCYCLE project arose for two main reasons: first, there was a shortage of high-quality materials from recycled waste tires for the production of new tires; second, there was a need to create a readily available source of raw materials from waste tires.
Since 2020, approximately 1.6 billion waste tires are discarded annually worldwide, equivalent to 26 million tons of material. In Europe alone, 3.5 million tons of waste tires are generated annually. The Alliance also notes that 50% of waste tires recycled in Europe are exported outside of Europe for reuse.
Although 90% of used tires are recycled in Europe, most are used for energy recovery or as non-tire-related materials (such as playground equipment and rubber products). Due to their poor quality, only a very small portion of recycled tires is reused in new tire production.
At the same time, Michelin has set an ambitious goal: to replace 100% of the fossil-based raw materials currently used in tire production with recycled or renewable (bio-based) raw materials by 2050. Clearly, we need to find solutions for sourcing high-quality, sustainable raw materials within a circular economy for tire production.
Replacing fossil fuels in tires with new raw materials made from recycled materials faces at least four unresolved challenges.
Tires are high-tech products, as they must simultaneously deliver multiple performance characteristics, such as safety (braking distances under various road conditions, at different temperatures, on dry or wet snow), service life, and fuel efficiency (rolling resistance affects a vehicle’s fuel consumption). To achieve these high performance characteristics, tire design incorporates numerous technologies that have been continuously improved over time. End users cannot accept the loss of performance due to the replacement of fossil fuels. Therefore, we need new technologies for recycling waste tires into high-quality raw materials.
While having new technologies in laboratory conditions is certainly desirable, tire production requires a significant supply of new raw materials. Therefore, every link in the value chain, from the engineering and technology laboratory (ETL) to the acquisition of new raw materials, must be scaled up and improved. This requires investment of capital and expertise to ensure the consistent quality of the raw materials produced.
The greatest challenge lies in competing with existing fossil fuel sources, as investments in their production have already been amortized and production efficiency is maximized. New value chains require optimization of investment and production efficiency. Another issue is that it’s not entirely clear whether end consumers are willing to pay higher prices for tires containing more recycled materials. Therefore, optimization of the new tire value chain is crucial, for example, ensuring the full utilization of all the added value created in this chain.
The life cycle assessment (LCA) of the new value chain must exceed the life cycle assessment of fossil materials and other existing processing methods, such as energy use for added value. Furthermore, the new value chain must not create new environmental challenges.
These four challenges make it impossible for Michelin to create a new value chain on its own; therefore, a project that combines all the necessary skills to address all the challenges is needed.
The need to develop all the necessary skills, the large amount of waste generated during recycling, and the need for innovative technologies to create high-quality recycled raw materials have prompted the launch of the BLACKCYCLE project, which is co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme and led by Michelin.
The project was launched in May 2020 and will end in June 2024. Approximately 70% of the funding was provided under the EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020 (grant number 869625).
The BLACKCYCLE project aims to create a closed-loop economy for waste tires by upgrading and recycling them to produce high-tech secondary raw materials (SR). This new research project focuses on developing new technologies and optimizing the entire value chain, from waste tire raw materials to SR, ensuring zero resource loss at every stage of the chain, with a particular focus on environmental impact. The BLACKCYCLE project’s objectives are:
After four years of development, BLACKCYCLE has proposed a new value chain that uses new technological components to transform ELT into high-quality materials.
The production chain for creating raw materials suitable for reuse in tires without compromising their performance is quite complex and requires multiple stages and technological breakthroughs. Let’s take a closer look:
After collection, tires are usually disassembled to separate the various elements such as metal, fabric, and rubber.
However, tires are made from various rubber compounds, each with a very specific composition. Processing these compounds individually, rather than together, can increase the cost of the tires.
Therefore, BLACKCYCLE has added a new step before tire disassembly, called tire demounting, using two machines developed by Michelin:
The inner layer of MRP rubber from IRG can be reused as an additive to the virgin inner rubber of new tires. Tread strips from ORC can be used as feedstock for pyrolysis to produce certain oils and recycled carbon black, or pure MRP tread rubber can be produced through cryogenic milling (MRP tread rubber is typically made from the entire tire and is therefore a blend of different types of rubber).
Once the disassembly process is complete, the remaining tire parts can be removed. The rubber is then crushed into granules using a granulation process.
These particles are fed into the pyrolysis process. Pyrolysis is a high-temperature treatment of rubber under anaerobic conditions, resulting in three fractions: approximately 15% gas, approximately 45% oil, and approximately 40% solids.
In this project, two pyrolysis processes were developed and optimized to produce the best quality oil (C/H ratio, limonene content, yield) for use in the production of high-quality materials:
Meanwhile, CSIC-ICB also conducted extensive work to better understand and optimize key pyrolysis parameters. CERTH developed new catalytic technologies that can improve the CH4 ratio (important for s-CB yield) and found solutions for desulfurization.
To obtain high-quality raw materials from CTT, a new step must be added: oil distillation, which requires a new, specialized distillation column designed and built by SISENER.
The resulting CTT oil was purified to obtain two fractions: • Heavy rubber bitumen HTT (approximately 70%) • Light rubber bitumen LTT (approximately 30%)
The quality of these fractions determines the quality of subsequent processes. CSIC-ICB optimized the distillation column and process through experiments conducted on a specially designed laboratory distillation test rig.
The heavy toxin fraction (HT) of crude oil is sent to ORION Corporation to replace fossil fuels in the production of high-quality carbon black (comparable in quality to commercial ASTM carbon black). This carbon black is called “sustainable carbon black” (s-CB) because it is produced from non-fossil resources, such as HT obtained from the ELT pyrolysis process. By optimizing the carbon black production process, ORION Corporation has successfully produced three s-CB grades, each in multi-tonne quantities: N234, N347, and N550, demonstrating the value chain capabilities of producing s-CB products that directly replace existing ASTM carbon black.
The second petroleum fraction, LTT, was redistilled to produce another petroleum fraction, RTT (tire resin). This fraction is rich in limonene and other monomers that can polymerize to form S-resin, a high-purity plasticizer. Michelin successfully produces S-resin in laboratory conditions.
The remaining light fraction, consisting primarily of benzene/toluene/xylene (BTX), can be sent to petrochemical plants for processing into various materials such as…
Michelin has validated all new rubber standards (MRP, r-CB, s-CB and s-resin) in various rubber compounds by measuring a range of properties.
We have manufactured and successfully tested truck and passenger car tires designed to operate with recombinant and silicate carbon (N234, N347, N550). This demonstrates that the content of these new reactive materials can be significantly increased without compromising tire performance, thus creating a closed-loop solution.
In short, BLACKCYCLE implements new processes with technological maturity levels from 3 to 9 and uses high-quality recycled raw materials.
The new processes include: • Deconstruction machines (ORC and IRG: Maturity Level 6), • Pyrolysis processes (spiral: Maturity Level 7 and moving bed: Maturity Level 9), • Distillation columns (Maturity Level 7).
New SRMs include: • Liner MRP (TRL6), • Improved r-CB (TRL5), • s-CB (TRL7), • s-Resin (TRL3)
Preliminary research by QUANTIS shows that the BlackCycle value chain significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional energy-based recycling methods, and its carbon footprint is comparable to (or even lower than) that of chemical recycling methods. Throughout its lifecycle, BLACKCYCLE carbon black (including green and recycled carbon black) also emits less CO2 than virgin carbon black. Furthermore, the use of MRP in recycled lining rubber can reduce CO2 emissions by a factor of three compared to virgin lining rubber production.
In addition to the positive results of the life cycle assessment, INERIS’s analysis of health, safety, and environment (HSE) risks across the entire value chain also inspires optimism. This work:
Sensitivity studies were conducted on several key parameters related to additional material costs produced in the value chain, which allowed us to identify the most influential parameters.
Many of the BLACKCYCLE project results can be used to support the deployment of the value chain after the project is completed:
In addition, the policy brief outlined some recommendations that could help the European Commission implement value chains:
In short, through exceptional collaboration, BLACKCYCLE is changing the industry landscape. The company provides innovative technologies that make the circular economy of tires a reality.
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Post time: Jul-06-2026