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Tyres & rubber

Reclaim rubber plant

Crumb devulcanised under heat and pressure into sheets that compounders mix with virgin rubber.

Discuss this plantWhat the report covers

Reclaim is tyre crumb that has been partly devulcanised in a rotary autoclave with oil and a reclaiming agent, then strained and refined into sheets. Compounders use it at 5–15% of a tyre compound and far more in mats, footwear and moulded goods, because at a fraction of the natural-rubber price it brings its own carbon black and oil with it.

Feed
20–40 mesh tyre crumb, made in-house or bought in, with low steel and fibre content.
Capacity modelled
5, 10, 20 and 40 tonnes of reclaim per day; the reference plant is 20 TPD with its own crumb line.

Products and buyers

  • Whole-tyre reclaim (WTR)

    Tyre carcass and sidewall, belting, hoses, mats, footwear

  • High-tensile reclaim

    Retread and truck tread compounds, conveyor belts

Indian rubber-goods makers bought about 181,000 tonnes of reclaim in FY2025-26, growing about 5% a year, with tyre makers the largest and fastest-growing buyers. Source: Rubber Board of India statistics

02Process

How the plant works.

INTyre crumb, 20–40 mesh
  1. 01Crumb preparation
  2. 02Blending with oil and agent
  3. 03Rotary autoclave devulcanisation
  4. 04Straining
  5. 05Refining
  6. 06Sheeting and packing
  7. 07Lab testing
  • OUTWhole-tyre reclaim (WTR)
  • OUTHigh-tensile reclaim
Fig. 01 · Reclaim rubber process flow · 7 stages

03Rules

What shapes the plant.

  • Several states class reclaim as a Red-category industry; confirm the category with your state board before the consent to establish.
  • Reclaim is a recognised end product under the tyre EPR rules, and producers register on the CPCB tyre portal.
  • Export grades must meet buyers' tensile and PAH limits; EU buyers require low-PAH process oils.

04Viability

What decides whether it pays.

  1. 01Grade approvals: each tyre maker qualifies reclaim against its own specification, which takes months.
  2. 02Crumb cost, whether made in-house or bought.
  3. 03Steam and power per tonne, and the fuel chosen for the boiler.
  4. 04The domestic versus export mix; export grades earn far more but need approvals.

05The report

What the reclaim rubber report covers.

A model-plant report exists for this plant type. A site-specific version replaces its assumptions with your feed, prices, quotes and location, and is written to be taken to a lender.

Request a site-specific report
  1. Executive summaryThe plant at a glance: capacity, products, project cost, returns and the decision it supports.
  2. Market and regulationFeed availability, buyers and prices, the rules that create or restrict demand.
  3. Site, capacity and productsLocation logic, plant size, product mix and specifications buyers will accept.
  4. Process and technologyThe route chosen and why, with a process flow and material balance.
  5. Machinery and utilitiesEquipment list with ratings and quantities, power, water, fuel and manpower.
  6. Environment and approvalsPollution-board category, emissions and effluent controls, licences and EPR registration.
  7. Capital and operating costBuilt bottom-up: land, civil, machinery, electricals, pollution control, pre-operative costs.
  8. Financials and sensitivityFive-year P&L, project financing, debt service, payback, and what moves the result.
  9. Risks and open questionsWhat must be confirmed with quotes, buyers and the regulator before money is committed.

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