Mitsubishi Chemical Group Launches Research on Chemical Recycling of ELT Carbon Black

Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) announced that it has launched research on chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELT) using the coke oven at its Kagawa Works. The MCG Group plans to start selling sustainable carbon black made from ELT by March 2026.

As the trend toward using sustainable raw materials in the tire industry accelerates, there is a growing need to use recycled carbon black, one of the main raw materials for tires and a rubber reinforcing agent. By leveraging the MCG Group's supply chain, it is able to feed pulverized ELT into the coke oven as a raw material and produce carbon black again from the tar. According to the MCG Group's research, this is the world's first attempt to produce sustainable carbon black from ELT using a coke oven. The produced sustainable carbon black has the same properties as conventional carbon black, so it can be used again in new tires, contributing to the closed-loop recycling of tires.

In preparation for commercialization, MCG started a demonstration experiment of feeding ELT into the coke oven in July 2024. The goal is to sell sustainable carbon black at a rate of several thousand tons per year in fiscal 2025 and tens of thousands of tons per year in fiscal 2030.

By establishing ELT chemical recycling technology, the MCG Group aims to contribute to the realization of a circular economy in the automotive and tire industries.