Continental to use recycled PET bottles in tyres from 2022
Continental will from next year begin using reprocessed polyester obtained from recycled plastic bottles in its tyre production.
The new sustainable polyester yarn will be obtained from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by a mechanical process and will be used in the construction of the tyre carcass.
Continental says this can completely replace conventional polyester.
Together with its cooperation partner and supplier OTIZ, a fibre specialist and textile manufacturer, Continental claims it has developed a special technology to recycle PET bottles without previously necessary intermediate chemical steps and to make the polyester yarn functional for the high mechanical requirements of the tyre.
In the course of so-called upcycling, a PET bottle becomes a high-performance PET material.
“As early as 2022, we will be able to use material obtained from recycled PET bottles in tyre production,” says Dr. Andreas Topp, responsible for materials, process development and industrialisation in Continental’s tyres business area.
“In our innovative recycling process, the fibres are spun from recycled PET without having to break the material down into its components beforehand.”
As part of the recycling process, the bottles are first sorted, caps removed and finally mechanically cleaned.
After mechanical shredding, they are melted down and granulated; this is followed by solid state polymerisation and a modified spinning process.
Laboratory and tyre tests conducted by Continental have shown that secondary raw material fibres perform equally well as the fibres used up to now. They have the same quality as virgin PET, are just as stable, and are particularly suitable for tires due to their breaking strength, toughness and thermal stability.
Conventional PET has long been used as a material in car tyre construction because it retains its shape even under high loads and temperatures and thus ensures safety at all driving speeds.
Today, a conventional passenger car tyre consists of around 400 grams of polyester yarn. This means that more than 60 recycled PET bottles can be used for a complete set of vehicle tyres in the future, according to Continental.
By 2050 at the latest, Continental aims to use 100 per cent sustainably produced materials in its tyre products.
With the use of recycled PET, the tyre manufacturer highlights this as a further step toward circular economy.
Continental says it will also present a concept tyre with polyester yarn made from recycled PET bottles at this year’s IAA Mobility in Munich.