BASF inks deal to use pyrolysis oil from waste tires

Ludwigshafen, Germany – BASF SE has announced an uptake supply agreement with New Energy, a Budapest-based technology company specialising in the pyrolysis of end-of-life tires (ELTs)

Under the deal, New Energy will supply BASF with up to 4,000 tonnes/year of pyrolysis oil derived from waste tires, according to the chemical and polymer group’s 1 Sept announcement. 

BASF, it stated, has already utilised first volumes of the pyrolysis oil from pilot-phase production at its  in BASF’s integrated chemical production site in Ludwigshafen.

The ELT programme is an addition to BASF’s ChemCycling project, which since 2018 has involved chemically reprocessing post-consumer plastics waste on an industrial scale.

“So far, there was no technology that allowed the recycling of pyrolysis oil from tires into high-value applications,” said Dr. Christian Lach, project leader ChemCycling at BASF. 

“By further broadening our raw material base to waste tires, we can create a new circular value stream,” added Lach. “Moreover, we establish a second recycled feedstock in our ChemCycling project with which we can manufacture high-performance products.” 

Waste tires, noted BASF, fall within the definition of post-consumer plastic waste according to DIN EN ISO 14021:2016-07.