Tyre Waste to Wealth: Sustainable enhancement of polymers

<p dir="ltr">Most of the world’s transportation relies on vehicles, and tyres are an essential part of most of them. To meet the world's requirements, tyres must be manufactured continuously, as they have a finite lifespan. Every year, more than one billion tyres are discarded globally, and 60-65% go to landfills or are used for illegal stockpiling. This poses severe health risks and fire hazards and release of toxic gases that pollute air, water, and soil. Pyrolysis has been proven to be one of the eco-friendly solutions for treating tyre waste and it delivers four products: oil, char, steel, and gas. However, pyrolysis plants are limited worldwide for various reasons, including end-market opportunities, especially for char. Char is a carbonaceous material; refined char is called recovered carbon black (rCB). </p><p dir="ltr">This research aims to valorise the rCB as a sustainable reinforcement in synthesising polymer composites. For this purpose, polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic polymer has been chosen to examine the mechanical properties and UV stability. These composites can be used in packaging materials, automotive parts, gardening essentials, piping, footwear, and more. Using rCB rather than commercial carbon black can reduce CO2 emissions fivefold and carbon footprints by 80%, leading to a cleaner and greener environment.</p>