Completion of CenTiRe-Funded Tire Sustainability Research Project

CenTiRe is proud to announce the successful completion of a groundbreaking research project titled Recovery of ZnO and Heavy Metals from End-of-Life Tires for Enhanced and Effective Waste Material Utilization.  

This project was spearheaded by Virginia Tech faculty Principal Investigators, Dr. Alex Brand and Dr. Wencai Zhang, whose pioneering efforts mark a significant advancement in sustainable waste management and materials science.

The project focused on addressing a crucial environmental and industrial challenge: the efficient and eco-friendly recovery of valuable materials from end-of-life tires, a major contributor to global waste. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and heavy metals, which are used in tire production for enhanced durability and performance, often end up in landfills or are incinerated at the end of a tire’s lifecycle, contributing to pollution and resource loss. Through innovative methodologies developed under this project, the research team was able to devise a system that effectively extracts ZnO and other heavy metals, thereby maximizing waste material utilization and contributing to the circular economy.

Dr. Brand, whose expertise lies in materials science and the environmental impact of construction materials, collaborated closely with Dr. Zhang, an expert in mineral processing and recycling. Together, they combined cutting-edge techniques in materials recovery and re-utilization, offering practical solutions for the tire industry. Their work has significant implications for sustainability by reducing the reliance on virgin resources and minimizing environmental degradation associated with tire waste.  Their research also resulted in 4 published journal manuscripts, with another 3 journal publications expected soon. 

CenTiRe also recognized the hard work and dedication provided by these Virgina Tech student researchers involved in this project: Sung Eun Cho, Shiyu Li, Bin Ji and Thien Tran.  Well done team!

The deliverables from this project research includes final project reports, all test data and analyses, and the journal publications, which are made available to CenTiRe industry members through the centire.org website.