HANOVER, Germany — Australian tire recycler Green Distillation Technologies has been nominated in the Environmental Achievement of the Year category in the annual Tire Technology International awards, along with Marlborough, New Zealand-based carbon innovator CarbonScape.
Green Distillation has developed a proprietary process to break down end-of-life passenger, truck and off-the-road tires into their component oil, carbon and steel. CarbonScape has patented technology for turning sawdust and waste biomass into high-purity carbon products, including graphite, according to a Green Distillation press release.
The two companies have discovered that the carbon produced by Green Distillation is highly compatible with CarbonScape's process for producing graphite, Green Distillation said.
"The deal between the two innovative companies solves a global problem," the tire recycler said, noting that about 1.5 billion waste tires are generated every year worldwide, it said.
"What we have achieved so far is a world breakthrough, and we believe that, in time, our technology will eventually become the preferred means of recycling old tires throughout the world," said Trevor Bayley, Green Distillation chief operating officer.
The Tire Technology International awards, which are in their 12th year, will be announced at a dinner at the Tire Technology Expo in Hanover Feb. 26.
Green Distillation operates a tire processing plant in Warren, New South Wales, and plans to build another in Toowoomba, Queensland with more facilities planned in Australia. It also recently signed an agreement worth up to $100 million to build 10 plants in the U.S. and another $50 million to build five facilities in South Africa.