GRI advances use of recovered carbon black in tires

Colombo – GRI is increasing the use of recycled carbon black (rCB) in its rubber compounds, the Sri Lankan off-road tire maker has announced.

The move is aligned with the tire industry’s shifts towards more sustainable practices, products, and eco-friendly solutions, said a 1 Sept announcement.

GRI said this had led to a “substantial decrease” in the use of virgin carbon black in the production of its Ultimate Green XT tire for forklifts.

Likewise, rCB was stated to have replaced a substantial amount of conventional carbon black in GRI's Green XLR Earth radial agriculture tires.

The tire maker added that it had selected “premium suppliers” for rCB to source “top-tier materials” for its tires.

GRI did not provide further details, apart from saying that rCB offered it “a unique opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of tire production while maintaining crucial physical properties.”

“This endeavour goes beyond traditional tire development and considers the full lifecycle impact of the product from manufacturing to end-of-life disposal”, commented CEO Dr Mahesha Ranasoma.