Bridgestone Developing New Tire Recycling Technology
Bridgestone Americas has formed an exclusive partnership with carbon capture and transformation (CCT) company, LanzaTech NZ, to co-develop a dedicated end-of-life tire recycling process and the decarbonization of new tire production, the company announced.
Bridgestone and LanzaTech will work to convert end-of-life tires into new materials, including exploring processes to create sustainable synthetic rubber that does not rely on petrochemicals, the companies said.
“We are excited to join forces with LanzaTech to co-create a more sustainable pathway for end-of-life tires,” said Paolo Ferrari, President & CEO, Bridgestone Americas. “The steps we take today are determining the health of our planet for future generations. We are determined to meet the moment with sustainable innovation that transforms the way tires are made and promotes end-to-end material circularity.”
“LanzaTech and Bridgestone are working together to find solutions to some of our world’s greatest challenges,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive Officer, LanzaTech. “We have already proven that we can convert unrecyclable, unsorted municipal solid waste to ethanol and then make products we use in our daily lives. With our partnership with Bridgestone, we are developing a circular pathway to use tires to make tires. This partnership exemplifies what we call a Post Pollution Future.”
Applying LanzaTech’s carbon capture and gas fermentation process to end-of-life tires yields sustainably produced chemicals, such as ethanol, that can be converted to materials such as PET for packaging, polyester yarn and surfactants used in consumer home goods like laundry detergent, the company said. In addition, Bridgestone and LanzaTech will jointly explore opportunities to co-develop proprietary microbe technology to produce more efficient pathways to produce butadiene, a key ingredient in new tire production.
