TOKYO — Bridgestone Corp., in partnership with suppliers, is driving an initiative to accelerate the commercial launch of tires made from plant-based synthetic rubber.
Together with materials specialist Eneos Materials and engineering turnkey-procurement company JGC Holdings, Bridgestone has been conducting basic technology studies and market research since 2022 toward synthesizing biobutadiene derived from plant resources.
The project is designed to promote the production of biobutadiene obtained from bioethanol derived from plant resources, and then use that material to produce synthetic rubber that can be used to build tires.
The goal is to have demonstration tires produced with the bio-based materials ready for testing by 2028 ahead of launching commercially viable products by the first half of the 2030s, the partners said.
The trio will also study the construction of a supply chain for synthetic rubber and verify the social and customer value of the tires, Bridgestone said.
Separately, Eneos and JGC are working on a project to build a biomanufacturing ecosystem using "unused" resources such as wood, which could contribute to the production of bio-based tires.
As part of that project, which specifically targets paper mills of use of wood waste, Eneos will aim to develop and industrialize "butadiene conversion technology" using bioethanol produced from unused resources.
This initiative is in addition to a pair of development projects Bridgestone has under way that are aimed at improving its use of recovered carbon black (rCB) in the production of new tires.
The projects are in line with the company's "Sowing New Seeds" exploratory business initiatives disclosed in Bridgestone's Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) for sustainable growth.
The first initiative involves a partnership with Tokai Carbon designed to develop a technology to perform "secondary processing" on tire-derived rCB. The project also will involve researchers at Kyushu University and Okayama University.
The project's goal is to convert rCB to eco carbon black (eCB) with rubber reinforcement properties equal to those of virgin carbon black (vCB), Bridgestone said.
Supported by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the project aims to address the "practical application of rCB" in new tires, which Bridgestone said still faces challenges.
For instance, it said, rCB has lower rubber reinforcement performance compared with vCB, primarily due to the presence of numerous impurities. Additionally, the thermal recovery of ELTs leads to CO2 emissions.
As part of the collaboration, the partners aim to develop a technology to remove impurities from rCB and produce a filler material with "superior rubber reinforcing properties."
The project's objective is to establish a demonstration plant capable of producing 5,000 metric tons per year by fiscal 2032.
Additionally, the project will focus on developing special polymer/carbon composites that enable the reuse of carbon black without the need for pyrolysis of ELTs.
At the same time, Bridgestone said it plans to build a pilot pyrolysis plant for the recovery of end-of-life tires at its rubber hose plant in Seki City, Japan, with a goal of generating recycled materials to be used in producing synthetic rubber and tires.
Construction on the facility is expected to in November with completion set for September 2027, Bridgestone said.
Once completed, the unit will be capable of processing 7,500 metric tons of ELTs per year to produce pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black (rCB).
The rCB produced will be used as reinforcement materials for tires while the pyrolysis oil will be used in chemicals such as butadiene to produce synthetic rubber, Bridgestone said.
The plant builds on a previous joint project between Bridgestone and Japanese materials company Eneos Corp., which resulted in the installation of a demonstration machine at Bridgestone's innovation park in 2023.
With the pilot plant, Bridgestone said it aims to scale up the technology and optimize the precision pyrolysis process. Through the initiative, Bridgestone said it aims to acquire knowledge such as process design and quality control necessary for stable and continuous operation.
The project is part of one of Bridgestone's two previously announced R&D demonstration projects for the recycling of waste tires launched in 2022.
