Zeppelin wins engineering contract for Polish tire pyrolysis plant

Friedrichshafen, Germany – Automated equipment supplier Zeppelin Systems has been awarded the engineering contract for an expansion project at ReOil’s end-of-life tire (ELT) pyrolysis facility in Poland.

The project is designed to triple processing capacity at ReOil’s end-of-life tire (ELT) pyrolysis facility in the southern Polish city of Bukowno.

The ELT recycler currently operates a 20 kilotonne per annum (ktpa) facility at the site, which has been operational since 2015, according to Zeppelin's 26 Oct announcement.

Zeppelin, which also has a partnership with ReOil via its 'sustainable tire alliance' initiative, said it had already supplied basic engineering for the new plant in 2019.

The engineering contract has now been awarded “due to the high level of customer satisfaction,” said the German-based company.

ReOil’s pyrolysis process recovers gas, oil and carbon black from ELTs to be used in the manufacture of tires, rubber components, plastics, steel or aviation fuel.

For the new plant, Zeppelin is to deliver all 'turnkey solutions' from plant technology to process engineering and final implementation.

“Only a few companies can implement such complex and extensive projects virtually anywhere in the world," said Dr Markus Voege, CEO of Zeppelin Systems.

"The aim is to offer process solutions in the future that can be provided as part of license models,” according to Voege.

This, he said, could for example lead to the delivery of an ELT pyrolysis plant as a turnkey product from Zeppelin.

The engineering contract is the first project linked to the Zeppelin 'sustainable tire alliance'.

The machinery supplier will focus on bringing “additional processes to technological maturity” and strengthening the circular economy, said Guido Veit, VP sales, plastic & rubber, Zeppelin Systems.