PROJECT

InReGEO is a pilot-type project, aiming at applying to Giant End-of life tyres (tyre’s external diameter range from 3m up to 4.2 m diameter and they weigh up to 6 tons, the largest tyres manufactured worldwide) a recycling and devulcanization route based on High Pressure Water jet rubber disruption that has never been tested before on such a specific items.

Also, a compact machine will be developed in the project: it will perform sidewall cutting, separating the side walls from the tread, enabling easier transportation of giant OTR tyres on standard trucks without special permission for oversize transport.

In compliance with the definition of “pilot project”, the innovation concerns how the HPWJ technology is implemented to address the specific application to Giant tyres, fitting within the category of Innovation in process and method.

InReGEO project contributes to the Thematic priorities for Resource Efficiency, and green and circular economy with a clear focus on the priority areas of EU action plan for the Circular Economy that sets the critical raw materials that are both of high economic importance for the EU and vulnerable to supply disruption, focusing on Natural Rubber (NR) that has been added to Critical Raw Materials (CRM) list in 2017. The list contains CRM that reach or exceed thresholds for economic importance and supply risk.

The potential impact of HPWJ technology on the entire value chain of the rubber sector and tyre industry is enormous and should finally allow it to close the gap between the offer of unrecycled vulcanized rubber source and the demand of devulcanized recycled natural rubber.