In partnership with Delta-Energy Group, a market leader in tire material recovery, Bridgestone Americas (BSAM) has begun using recovered carbon black (rCB) in manufacturing new high-quality tires for agriculture and passenger vehicles in Des Moines and Aiken County, with expansion plans to Wilson County and Cuernavaca.
Delta-Energy’s proprietary rCB product, D-E Black, partially replaces virgin carbon black, which is a material whose global demand and consumption is increasing and is made from petroleum products using a combustion process. D-E Black is produced from end-of-life tires using its patented DE Polymerization Process, which emits 85% less CO2 per ton compared to virgin carbon black. Since 2017, BSAM has procured over 4,212 tons (8,425,941 pounds) of recycled carbon black for use in the tire manufacturing process, as of Nov, 2022. BSAM is continually assessing new opportunities to expand the use of D-E Black in new and existing products.
Michelin and Bridgestone delivered a joint position paper on advancing sustainability in the tire industry at the Smithers Recovered Carbon Black Conference in 2022. The paper focused on increasing utilization of recovered carbon black in tires and the environmental benefits of this more sustainable material. Bridgestone and Michelin issued a call to action to establish a coalition of a diverse group of stakeholders, including tire manufacturers, carbon black suppliers, pyrolysis partners and emerging technology startups to accelerate progress and increase supply of recovered carbon black.