Globally, approximately 32 million tons of tires are discarded each year due to reaching the end of their usable life. This amount is enough to cover the entire capital city of Washington, D.C. (USA).
The Reuters news agency has assessed that the shift to electric vehicles is expected to only increase this number. Due to the large batteries they carry, electric vehicles tend to be significantly heavier than internal combustion engine vehicles. The increased weight puts more stress on tires, causing them to wear out faster.
Old tires can have a negative impact on the environment. (Photo: newatlas.com).
A startup company named T-Phite in Chile claims that their production process can help address this pressing issue. T-Phite’s solution for dealing with expired tires is to recycle them into electric vehicle batteries.
T-Phite’s CEO, Ms. Bernardita Diaz, explained to Reuters: “There are many tire recycling technologies, but one technology, pyrolysis, helps obtain three by-products. These by-products are bio-oil, steel, and carbon black. Carbon black has no market outlet. And what have we done? We transform this tire waste into graphite material for use in batteries for electric vehicles.”
Ms. Diaz also emphasized: “Our process is innovative, primarily because it addresses two issues. One is the disposal of tires, and the second is meeting the increasing demand for electronic mobility materials. By obtaining materials from other waste, you are creating what is known as a circular economy.”
According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, although the global recycling rate has increased in recent years, hundreds of millions of discarded tires each year still end up in landfills or storage.
