Environmental challenges are creating a new link between manufacturers, raw material suppliers and service providers in the global rubber industry.
Cooperation between 2 rivals Michelin and Bridgestone
In order to achieve the goals of sustainable development and zero carbon emissions in the coming decades, many new partnerships and alliances have been formed in the tire manufacturing and rubber industry. By 2050, many major tire manufacturers have committed to using 100% materials that are produced sustainably and without impact on the climate and environment throughout the value chain.
To do this, manufacturers will first have to deal with the fact that 1.6 billion end-of-life tires (ELTs), or 26 million tons of scrap, are discarded worldwide each year. This global issue has led Michelin and Bridgestone to issue a joint “call to action” to increase recycling rates by “enriching the recycling ecosystem” for ELT and promoting a circular economy in the region. rubber industry.
A particular focus of the world's two largest tire companies is increasing the use of recovered carbon black (RCB) from ELT in new tyres. Under their joint initiative, Bridgestone and Michelin have set up a website as a communication platform to promote rCB's role to deliver "safer, cleaner and more sustainable mobility". Accordingly, this will require the removal of “significant barriers” to material circulation at the scale necessary to realize the spirit of “clean mobility”. Using rCB in the new tires is claimed to cut CO2 emissions from carbon black production by 85% compared to virgin materials. It is also estimated that less than 1% of the total carbon black used in the production of new tires globally is recovered. Tire manufacturers go on to claim that increasing the use of RCBs by replacing 10% of pure carbon black will reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 2 million tons per year.
Bridgestone and Michelin will next publish a white paper that outlines the “priority characteristics” of rCB use in tyres, while also addressing the issues associated with current limitations, and hence wide adoption. than.
They also hope to engage with value chain stakeholders to create “a necessary dialogue on the use of recovered carbon black in the tire and rubber value chain.” In a "call to action", Bridgestone and Michelin both emphasized that they were still "competitors with their own views on investment".
Bridgestone and Michelin work together to tackle the environmental problem of old tyres.
Supply chain link
Elsewhere, new partnerships are also being built to meet the growing need to ensure more transparency and sustainability in the natural rubber (NR) supply chain. For example, Continental is working to procure all its materials from “responsible sources”, including working with partners to enhance traceability in the NR value chain.
As part of this effort, the German tire maker will process some of its NR purchases through its HeveaConnect digital trading platform, which is designed to authenticate key aspects of the supply chain. sustainable and fully compliant. The HeveaConnect dashboard displays standardized information on quality, traceability, and compliance with social and environmental standards.
“HeveaConnect shows how digital platforms enable solid analysis of complex supply chains as well as management,” said Dr. Andrea Appel, head of purchasing at Continental's Tires business area. target. The ecological, social and financial risks are equally transparent to all market participants. Additional incentives aim to provide attractive incentives for manufacturers to act sustainably.”
Among other features, HeveaConnect helps to integrate information on the platform derived from risk analysis conducted by Rubberway, a joint venture between Continental and Michelin. Rubberway analyzes the entire supply chain in the natural rubber sector on a point system, and thus assesses sustainability risks for suppliers and subcontractors.
Meanwhile, Korean tire manufacturer Hankook Tire is participating in a project to use blockchain traceability technology for NR. Organized by Japanese trading company Itochu Corp., Project Tree, also featured NR Indonesia processing company, PT Aneka Bumi Pratama. The project uses a smartphone app to record information such as the date and location of the NR transaction.
Through this project launched two years ago, NR produced from outside protected areas can be supplied to Hankook. In addition, smallholders without smartphones or bank accounts will be provided with agricultural tools, fertilizers and training for better productivity and sustainable practices, as well as incentives. Cash incentives will be paid “under close supervision”.
As part of the initiative, Hankook said it will distribute tires produced through the project in the UK market, through Kwik Fit and Stapletons. A portion of tire sales will be used to fund incentives for input suppliers such as smallholders, collectors and local dealers – “who collaborate to record transactions and ensure traceability”.
In another innovative partnership leading the way in sustainability, Cabot Corp. has established a new partnership with IFF Health and Biosciences – formerly DuPont's nutritional and biological sciences arm – to improve bio-based rubber-reinforced materials. The partners' goal is to develop and commercialize applications for IFF's Nuvolve-designed polysaccharides.
During the last year, Cabot and IFF explored the development of bio-based “high-sustainability rubber-reinforcement additives” made by enzymatic polymerization of “stable” sugar beet. steady". “Designed polysaccharides will be used as Cabot's carbon-reinforced blended rubber reinforcement, with the US company citing potential applications in tires, belts, hoses, gaskets, and gaskets. and automotive weather strip, said Dr. Fred Rumpf, senior R&D director, reinforced materials segment”, said at Cabot.
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(according to european-rubber-journal.com)
http://tapchicaosu.vn/2023/04/10/tinh-ben-vung-thuc-day-cac-lien-minh-moi-trong-nganh-cao-su/
