Phibro rCB Spotlights Circular Commodity Vision at Commodity Trading Week Americas 2025

Commodity Trading Week Americas 2025, held June 17–18, brought together the commodity industry’s top minds to address pressing market challenges and opportunities. In line with the event’s focus on emerging trends – from shifting trade policies to sustainability and ESG factors – Phibro rCB took center stage with a presentation titled “Managing Waste Pollution and Driving New Circular Commodities Markets.” This session highlighted Phibro rCB’s ambitious vision of converting end-of-life tires (ELTs) into high-value commodities, and outlined how the company is building circular supply chains to transform tire waste into resources. The presentation delivered a data-driven case for how the United States could become the first fully circular ELT market, underscoring Phibro rCB’s leadership in sustainable materials innovation.

Converting End-of-Life Tires into Circular Commodities

A core message of Phibro rCB’s presentation was that today’s waste can become tomorrow’s raw material. The company pointed to the 1.7 billion end-of-life tires generated worldwide each year and reframed them as a vast untapped resource – essentially “raw” waste tire material that can be mined for new commodities. Using advanced pyrolysis technology, these scrap tires can be broken down into valuable outputs, notably recovered carbon black (rCB) and recycled tire pyrolysis oil (rTPO). In this way, an environmental liability is transformed into productive inputs: rCB serves as a sustainable substitute for traditional carbon black in rubber and plastics, while rTPO can be refined and used as an alternative to fossil oils in fuels or chemical manufacturing. By embracing such innovations, Phibro rCB envisions a future where managing waste pollution goes hand-in-hand with supplying circular commodities for industry.

This approach aligns with broader sustainability trends in the commodities sector. As governments and companies strive for net-zero emissions, strategies like using waste as circular raw material have gained traction. Phibro rCB’s vision – converting ELTs into rCB and rTPO – exemplifies this strategy. It not only addresses a mounting waste problem but also creates a new supply stream for critical materials. In fact, Phibro rCB illustrated the sheer scale of this opportunity: 19.2 million metric tons (MMT) of scrap tires (from a single year’s U.S. supply) could yield about 11.5 MMT of fully circular carbon black when processed, covering an estimated 71% of the world’s carbon black demand. In other words, what was once considered “waste” can meet a significant portion of global industrial needs – a powerful illustration of circular economy principles at work.

Building a Circular Supply Chain for Tires

Realizing this vision requires building robust circular supply chains, and Phibro rCB’s strategy is rooted in on-the-ground implementation. A notable example highlighted in the presentation is the company’s project in Mississippi, which serves as a prototype for a circular ELT supply chain. Approximately 3.0 million waste tires are generated in Mississippi each year. Phibro rCB’s facility in Natchez, MS is designed to process these tires (converting them into tire chips and then into rCB and oil), with an initial capacity of 24,000 metric tons of tire chips annually. By scaling up this capacity through planned expansions, Phibro rCB aims to enable Mississippi to become the first fully circular ELT state – meaning the state could handle 100% of its end-of-life tires internally, turning them into new raw materials for manufacturing. This “dream reality check” in Mississippi demonstrates how a local circular supply chain can effectively eliminate tire waste and support new production, serving as a model for other regions.

Phibro rCB’s broader strategy involves replicating and networking such facilities to create a nationwide (and eventually global) circular supply system. The presentation outlined the need for multiple new rCB production plants to meet rising material demand. For instance, ten modern pyrolysis plants (each processing ~30,000 MT of tire material per year) could collectively convert about 35 million scrap tires annually into over 210,000 MT of sustainable carbon blacks (rCB plus new-generation furnace carbon black) and roughly 159,000 MT of rTPO. This kind of scale-up would require significant investment and coordination – on the order of an $11.6 billion capital investment for a fully nationwide solution, according to Phibro rCB’s estimates. Yet the payoff would be transformative: a self-sustaining circular infrastructure that absorbs tire waste and feeds the manufacturing supply chain with recycled inputs. By forging partnerships across the tire recycling, carbon black, and petrochemical industries, Phibro rCB is actively building the links of this supply chain. The company’s emphasis on data, technology, and strategic capacity-building reinforces its commitment to make circular tire resource networks a reality.

Making the U.S. the First Fully Circular ELT Market

Perhaps the most compelling takeaway from Phibro rCB’s Commodity Trading Week presentation was the data-driven case for the United States to lead the world in ELT circularity. Each year, the U.S. generates approximately 350 million scrap tires. Phibro rCB demonstrated that this domestic feedstock is sufficient to produce around 2.45 million metric tons of circular carbon black annually (combining recovered carbon black and sustainable furnace-derived carbon black). For context, North America’s total carbon black demand is projected to be about 1.96 million MT in 2028, meaning a fully realized ELT recycling program could not only meet 100% of U.S. industry needs but even generate surplus material. In fact, the analysis showed that the U.S. could cover its own carbon black requirements and still have nearly 0.5 million MT available for export each year.

Armed with these numbers, Phibro rCB argues that the U.S. is positioned to become the first country in the world to achieve a fully circular tire economy, essentially closing the loop on tire production. By turning all ELT waste into new raw materials for new tires, the U.S. can eliminate the environmental burden of tire disposal while securing a domestic source of critical commodities. This vision of the “first fully circular ELT market” is not just a concept – it’s backed by a clear economic and logistical roadmap. Through incremental capacity additions (as noted, just 10 new facilities can make a significant dent), policy support, and industry collaboration, the U.S. can feasibly reach this circular milestone within the coming decade. Phibro rCB’s presentation underscored that this achievement would represent a world-first in sustainable commodities, turning the American tire waste challenge into a competitive advantage in materials supply. The strong response from the Commodity Trading Week audience reflected the significance of this proposal, as it ties together environmental responsibility with commodity market innovation.

Looking Ahead: Leadership in Sustainable Materials Innovation

Phibro rCB’s active participation in Commodity Trading Week Americas 2025 underscored the company’s growing role as a thought leader in sustainable commodities. By showcasing how innovative recycling technologies and circular supply chain models can tackle pollution while feeding industrial demand, Phibro rCB is helping to redefine what commodity trading and procurement can look like in a circular economy. The company’s vision – converting ELTs into rCB and rTPO at scale – is a prime example of turning a waste stream into a profitable commodity stream. As evidenced by its strategy to scale recovered carbon black production and position the U.S. as a pioneer in circular tire markets, Phibro rCB is charting a bold path forward for the industry.

Looking ahead, Phibro rCB is poised to continue leading in sustainable materials innovation. The forward-looking plans discussed in Chicago reflect a commitment to ongoing investment, technology development, and partnerships aimed at building a truly circular ecosystem for tires and beyond. By driving these initiatives, Phibro rCB is not only addressing environmental imperatives but also offering a new paradigm for commodity markets – one where growth and sustainability go hand in hand. As the company expands its projects and shares its insights at industry forums, it reinforces its position at the forefront of a more circular and resilient commodities future. Phibro rCB’s leadership at Commodity Trading Week 2025 is thus both a milestone and a springboard, signaling the company’s dedication to shaping a greener, circular economy in the years to come.

Download and view the full presentation:

Commodity Trading Week Americas Presentation 6-17-25 (2).pdf

Download PDF • 6.06MB