Toyoda Gosei doubling EPDM rubber recycling capacity

Kiyosu, Japan – Toyoda Gosei Co. (TG) is doubling the rubber-recycling capacity of its Morimachi plant in central Japan, for products to be used in the automotive industry.

The Japanese group is bringing a second rubber-recycling line into operation at the plant, to double processing capacity to 1.2 kilotonnes per annum, said TG 18 Oct.

Set to start mass production in 2025, the line incorporates new technology to raise the quality of the recyclate, noted the Japanese automotive and industrial parts supplier.

Employing an improved screw design, the processing unit can increase the percentage of recycled material mixed into new material “from several percent up to 20%.”

This amount, said the manufacturer, is equal to “almost all of the waste" from 'opening trim' weatherstrips manufactured at the Morimachi plant.

The added line has also been optimised in terms of the layout of the de-odourising system, 'to maintain the odour at the same level as virgin materials'.

TG began rubber recycling operations at the plant in 2021, using proprietary devulcanisation technology to process EPDM scrap for use in new products.

The group said it is also conducting technical studies on recycling natural rubber as well as establishing a system that recovers rubber from end-of-life vehicles.

To achieve that goal, the Japanese supplier signalled future plans to collaborate with automakers and other companies in the automotive industry supply-chain.