Neste, Borealis and Covestro are cooperating in the chemical recycling of used tires.
 

According to a joint announcement, the companies have signed a project agreement to enable the recycling of used tires into high-quality plastics for automotive applications. The aim of the collaboration was to promote the circular economy in the plastics value chain and in the automotive industry. Chemical recycling would be used to liquefy used tires and then process them into basic chemicals and high-purity polycarbonates. These could then be used in various automotive applications, from headlights to radiator grilles. In addition to polycarbonates, polyurethanes would also be possible end products. These could also be used in parts of the vehicle interior. Neste is said to use process the liquefied used tires into a high-quality raw material for the production of polymers and chemicals and supply this to Borealis. Borealis, in turn, would use the raw material produced by Neste to manufacture the basic chemicals phenol and acetone, which Covestro then uses to produce polycarbonates and polyurethanes. The proportion of recycled ingredients is to be allocated to the end products via certified mass balancing in accordance with ISCC Plus. According to the project partners, the first products from the collaboration are already available. Each company had produced the first batch of its respective project contribution. The companies emphasize the importance of such projects for planned EU legislation such as the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation. The collaboration will be presented during the International Congress on Plastics in Automotive Engineering, the PIAE, on June 19 and 20, 2024 in Mannheim.
 
Sources:

• Press release Covestro, Neste, Borealis (11.6.2024)
• Photo: © Covestro