Prism Worldwide has announced a trio of advancements, in odor reduction, sustainable thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) development and high-content ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) reuse. These three challenges have been considered as barriers to wider adoption of recycled materials in consumer and industrial products.
“This is a turning point for end-of-life tire recycling and sustainable polymer development,” said Bob Abramowitz, CEO, Prism Worldwide. “These are not incremental improvements. We’ve tackled odor, cost and performance, three of the biggest barriers to more widespread adoption of recycled materials, and overcome them all with commercially viable solutions.
“Our team’s diligence in developing solutions that solve these challenges allows us to deliver cost-effective, high-performance materials without requiring customers to pay a green premium. Companies pay lip service to sustainability values, but they change their tune when it costs more. We are creating additional profit opportunities while helping them to meet corporate sustainability objectives.”
Prism says its innovations can be implemented without changing the manufacturing process. These changes are said to introduce new ways to use up to 50% of recycled end-of-life tire materials in injection or rotational molding and extruding. This opens up new processes that were formerly limited to compression molding and enables companies to offer products such as automotive interiors, which are made using recycled materials but no longer produce unpleasant odors.
Odor-reduced tire materials
Historically, strong and lingering odors have limited the use of recycled tire materials in indoor environments. With Prism’s technology, validated in an independent lab to automotive-grade odor panel testing and VOC requirements, materials can meet the requirements for automotive interiors.
Sustainable TPV from end-of-life tires
Prism has developed a patent-pending sustainable TPV where the rubber portion is derived from end-of-life tire materials. Prism’s technology will allow TPV manufacturers to offer sustainable solutions in extremely valuable polymers.
High-content recycled EPDM
EPDM rubber is commonly used in automotive weatherstripping, gaskets, roofing and various industrial applications. However, due to its crosslinked structure, it presents challenges for recycling. Prism has developed a patent-pending devulcanization process designed to enable the reuse of EPDM at higher content levels while maintaining essential physical properties. This approach may help lower material costs and support improved sustainability in industries that use EPDM.
In related news, Smithers recently joined the Circular Rubber Platform, a community of rubber specialists and companies focused on improving the recycling and reuse of rubber products