Pyrowave ships first batch of recycled styrene for Michelin tires

Montreal, Quebec – Canadian recycling startup Pyrowave has shipped its first batch of recycled styrene, derived from polystyrene waste, to Michelin for the production of environmentally friendly tires.

In an announcement 17 Nov, the company said its technology had successfully passed Michelin Group's quality tests with 99.8% pure recycled styrene monomer produced from polystyrene waste.

The recycled monomer, it said, can now be integrated into industrial elastomer batches.

Furthermore, for the first time, the finished product will incorporate “fully traceable and segregated recycled styrene, where all the styrene will be physically present in the product rather than a credit-based content.”

Pirowave said a container with 3 tonnes of recycled styrene had left Montreal for an undisclosed Michelin plant in France.

“Following years of testing, Michelin will be in a position to manufacture batches of industrial styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) products with Pyrowave recycled styrene," it said.

The amount, according to Pyrowave, would represent over 1,000 passenger car tires.

"This achievement confirms once and for all that we can implement a 100% traceable and controlled supply chain in polystyrene recycling,” said CEO Jocelyn Doucet.

“Products can now be made entirely from recycled material, without dilution or degradation,” he added.

Pyrowave has developed a microwave technology to return waste polystyrene plastics to their original form, i.e. styrene monomers.

The recovered styrene, according to Pyrowave, is “identical to virgin material”, but with a 45% reduced carbon footprint.

Michelin Group and Pyrowave have been collaborating since 2020 to accelerate time-to-market for the Montreal-based company’s waste recovery technology.

In a joint development agreement in November 2020, the two sides said they aimed to certify and commercially roll out the technology in global markets, with ultimately an investment of over €20 million.

Combining Pyrowaves platform with Michelin’s knowhow, the collaboration aims to develop an industrial demonstrator, funded and operated by Michelin, by 2023.