Innovation in the U.S. Transforms Discarded Tires into High-Value Reusable Materials and Reduces Pollution

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 07/04/2025 at 21:54

Imagem: Pexels

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Invention from US University Recycles Used Tires and Turns Them into Useful Materials. Solution May Help Combat One of the Biggest Global Environmental Challenges

The improper disposal of rubber is a serious environmental issue. Discarded tires, for example, when ending up in landfills, release toxic substances into the soil and water. And if burned, pollute the air. Therefore, finding effective recycling methods is urgent.

In the United States, scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created a new method to transform discarded tires into useful materials. The technique was developed by a team led by Dr. Aleksandr Zhukhovitskiy.

A Solution for Discarded Tires: Two-Step Process

The new process works in two steps. First, the researchers perform CH amination. Then, they apply a strategy called polymer rearrangement. This method breaks the complex structure of rubber and transforms it into soluble, functional, and amine-rich materials.

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Alternative to Traditional Methods

Currently, rubber recycling methods do not fully solve the problem. One example is pyrolysis, which breaks rubber down using heat. It can release harmful substances, such as benzene and dioxins. This poses risks to both the environment and health.

The new method developed by Zhukhovitskiy’s team aims to overcome these challenges. He claims it is possible to completely decompose used tires in just six hours. The result is functional materials that can be repurposed.

Use in Epoxy Resins

The materials obtained from the new process can be used in the production of epoxy resins. This type of resin is common in adhesives, coatings, and composite materials. According to the researchers, the resins made from recycled material are as strong as those already on the market.

Furthermore, the team assessed the environmental impact of the recycling process for used tire rubber, using an indicator called factor E. The study indicated that the technique is efficient and reduces the need for landfills.

According to Sydney Towell, a co-author of the research, the combination of CH amination and skeletal rearrangement represents a new pathway to transform rubber waste into high-value products. She also stated that the group intends to further improve the sustainability of the process by exploring more eco-friendly solvents.

“By harnessing the power of CH amination and skeletal rearrangement, this method opens a new avenue for transforming post-consumer rubber into high-value materials, thereby reducing the need for landfills and minimizing environmental damage “, says Sydney Towell.

The research represents a practical solution to the problem of used tire rubber waste and its environmental impacts. More information is available on the UNC website.

With information from Neo Zone.

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Innovation in the U.S. Transforms Discarded Tires into High-Value Reusable Materials and Reduces Pollution

Invention from US University Recycles Used Tires and Turns Them into Useful Materials. Solution May Help Combat One of the Biggest Global Environmental Challenges

A Solution for Discarded Tires: Two-Step Process

Alternative to Traditional Methods

Use in Epoxy Resins

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Innovation in the U.S. Transforms Discarded Tires into High-Value Reusable Materials and Reduces Pollution

Invention from US University Recycles Used Tires and Turns Them into Useful Materials. Solution May Help Combat One of the Biggest Global Environmental Challenges

A Solution for Discarded Tires: Two-Step Process

Alternative to Traditional Methods

Use in Epoxy Resins

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

Scientists have created a material six times lighter than air, 75 times lighter than styrofoam, and that becomes stronger the more it is compressed: aerographite seems impossible, but it can reinforce structures, batteries, and satellites.

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