Tire Recycling

Mechanical Tire Recycling – Sustainable Recovery of Valuable Raw Materials from Used Tires
High-Quality Secondary Raw Materials from Used Tires

Millions of used tires from cars, trucks, agricultural machinery, and commercial vehicles accumulate every year. Although they have fulfilled their original function, they still contain valuable raw materials such as rubber, steel, and textile fibers. Through mechanical tire recycling, these materials are efficiently separated and returned to the economic cycle as high-quality secondary raw materials.

Mechanical tire recycling is a central component of a sustainable circular economy. It reduces the consumption of natural resources, decreases the need for energy-intensive primary raw materials, and actively contributes to environmental and climate protection. Modern recycling plants enable almost complete recovery of individual tire components and lay the foundation for numerous new products.

What is Mechanical Tire Recycling?

In mechanical tire recycling, used tires are processed exclusively through physical and mechanical methods. Unlike thermal or chemical processes, the materials are not incinerated or chemically altered. The goal is to separate the individual components of the tire as purely as possible and to prepare them for reuse.

A modern vehicle tire primarily consists of:

  • Natural and synthetic rubber
  • Steel cord
  • Textile fibers
  • Carbon black and mineral fillers

Each of these materials has a high raw material value and can – after appropriate processing – be reused in various industrial sectors.

How Does Mechanical Tire Recycling Work?

The recycling of used tires takes place in several precisely coordinated process steps. Modern facilities ensure efficient material separation and high quality of the recovered raw materials.

1. Acceptance and Pre-Sorting

The delivered used tires are first inspected and sorted by size, type, and condition. Unsuitable materials or foreign substances are removed to ensure a smooth recycling process.

2. Mechanical Pre-Shredding

Powerful shredders reduce the tires into coarse pieces. This step prepares the material for further processing and already loosens the initial bonds between rubber, steel, and textile fibers.

3. Fine Shredding

In several granulation and grinding stages, the material is gradually reduced to the desired particle size. Depending on the subsequent application, rubber granules or fine rubber powder of various particle sizes are produced.

4. Material Separation

Throughout the entire processing procedure, the individual components of the tire are separated from each other.

Methods used include:

  • Magnetic separators for recovering steel cord
  • Air classifiers for separating light textile fibers
  • Screening technology for classifying different particle sizes
  • Modern separation technologies to increase material purity

These processes result in high-quality and largely pure material fractions.

5. Quality Control

Finally, rubber granules, steel, and textile fibers are tested for purity, particle size, and material quality. This ensures that the recovered raw materials meet the requirements of the processing industry.

Which Raw Materials are Produced from Tire Recycling?

Mechanical tire recycling enables the recovery of several high-quality raw materials.

Rubber Granulate

The recovered rubber granulate finds diverse applications, for example in: