Pyrum starts scale production of Conti co-developed rCB grade

Dillingen, Germany – Pyrum Innovations has started industrial production of a new recovered carbon black (rCB) grade developed with Continental, following modifications to its tire pyrolysis reactors in Dillingen.

In a 5 Nov investor podcast, Pyrum CEO Pascal Klein said the new rCB grade, known as ‘new standard’, had been developed through a joint development agreement (JDA) with Continental, launched in 2022.

The programme, initially aimed at developing what the partners called "golden rCB", reached a milestone at the end of 2024, when the companies developed the new material. 

The two companies have now jointly filed a patent application for the new rCB material.

According to Klein, Pyrum's existing basic rCB grade can be used in passenger car and truck tires, but only in "very small" quantities.

The objective of the JDA, he said, was to produce new grades suitable for wider applications, targeting a material "which can replace big volumes in car tires, truck tires."

The programme subsequently resulted in two new grades, 'new standard' and 'advanced,' although the latter remains under development.

In addition to the two grades, Klein said Pyrum will continue producing its basic rCB, which is used in bicycle, forklift and construction machinery tires.

To enable the industrial production of the new standard grade, Pyrum said it modified its reactors during the summer shutdown, changing insulation, operating conditions, temperature profiles and residence times.

"After the summer break, we turned it on for the first time, hoping that the new standard comes out of the reactors," Klein said, "And lucky us, it worked."

The company is now operating two reactors, one producing the basic rCB grade and the other manufacturing 'new standard' material.

According to Klein, the changes have also resulted in "an increase of the oil output", while lower reactor temperatures and faster processing have reduced energy consumption.

The new grade is also softer and requires less electricity during milling.

Processing bottleneck

Separately, the Pyrum leader said the company had made progress in addressing throughput problems at its second milling and pelletising plant in Dillingen.

Following modifications to the dosing system, the line is now operating at 1,250–1,300kg/hour, occasionally reaching 1,350kg/hour.

This compares with 750kg/hour previously, although it remains below the contracted capacity of 1,600kg/hour.

Klein said the mill and pelletiser were functioning correctly, but the static dosing system remained a "bottleneck" because of differences in how rCB flows through the equipment.

The problem is particularly significant for the ‘new standard’ grade, which has different flow characteristics from basic rCB.

"Having a static dosing system is not a solution," he said, given Pyrum's plans to develop additional rCB grades.

The company now intends to replace the gravity-fed equipment with a forced dosing system using screws and agitators to control material flow.

Klein said the equipment supplier had acknowledged the limitations of the existing system and was contractually obliged to deliver the full specified throughput.

Meanwhile, Pyrum has received approval from regional authorities to operate the line around the clock, rather than 16 hours per day.

Klein said the additional operating hours would compensate for the remaining shortfall in hourly throughput.