LD Carbon has officially opened South Korea’s first and largest end-of-life tyre (ELT) resource circulation plant in Dangjin. Situated in the Dangjin Hapdeok General Industrial Complex, this major development significantly boosts the country's sustainable materials infrastructure and offers a scalable model for tyre recycling in Asia.
Covering 29,800 square metres, the Dangjin plant features two factory buildings and five silos. It is designed to process up to 50,000 tonnes of waste tyres annually, positioning it as Korea’s largest tyre pyrolysis facility and one of the largest across Asia. From this input, the plant can produce approximately 20,000 tonnes of recovered carbon black (rCB), branded as Green Carbon Black, and around 24,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil each year.
LD Carbon employs a two-stage pyrolysis process. In the primary phase, tyre chips are thermally decomposed into oil and char. The secondary phase refines the char into high-grade rCB, which can be used in the manufacture of new tyres, effectively closing the material loop. The plant achieves an impressive 98% recycling rate for ELTs.
Automation also plays a central role: 99.9% of operational processes are monitored and controlled from a central control room, allowing 24-hour continuous operation with minimal manual intervention.
By replacing conventional carbon black, LD Carbon's rCB can help reduce carbon emissions by up to 32,000 tonnes annually. The recovered materials hold ISCC PLUS certification, enhancing their appeal to domestic and international tyre manufacturers committed to sustainability goals.
Additionally, LD Carbon has secured a 10-year agreement with SK Incheon Petrochem for the supply of pyrolysis oil, integrating its operations into the wider petrochemical supply chain.
Recognising the growing demand for sustainable recycling solutions, LD Carbon is planning further investments, including the establishment of overseas production facilities. These expansions will strengthen the company's ability to serve the global tyre and rubber industries
The launch of LD Carbon’s Dangjin plant highlights the tyre sector's accelerating shift toward circular economy models, particularly through high-efficiency recycling technologies like pyrolysis. It also underscores the rising importance of sustainability certifications and automation in modern tyre manufacturing and recycling operations. As the industry looks to future-proof supply chains, smart materials recovery, and carbon reduction strategies, facilities like Dangjin will become increasingly vital.
Tagged with: ELT recycling, recovered carbon black, sustainable tyre manufacturing, tyre pyrolysis, circular economy, South Korea tyre industry
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