Old Tires Are Becoming a US Refinery's New Feedstock
Old Tires Are Becoming a US Refinery's New Feedstock
Old tires are moving into a new role in the U.S. fuel industry. Instead of ending up in landfills, stockpiles or conventional disposal routes, end-of-life tires are being converted into tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) that can be upgraded into transportation fuel.
A U.S.-based investor and project developer has selected Axens to provide the process design package for a hydroprocessing unit specifically designed to process 100% tire pyrolysis oil. The project combines a local end-of-life tire valorization facility with a TPO-upgrading unit and is currently in the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase. Final investment decision is expected in 2027.
From Scrap Tires to Refinery Feedstock
In tire pyrolysis, shredded end-of-life tires are thermally decomposed in the absence of oxygen. The process produces several products, including pyrolysis oil, recovered carbon-containing solids and gases. The resulting oil can then be further treated to remove contaminants and improve its fuel properties.
Axens has been selected to design the downstream hydroprocessing stage, which will process the tire-derived oil and produce a low-sulfur fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 500 ppm.
Axens Brings Hydroprocessing Technology to the Project
Axens will provide a Process Design Package tailored to the project's feedstock, product specifications and site conditions.
The company says tire pyrolysis oil presents specific processing challenges because of impurities and its chemical composition. Hydroprocessing and appropriate catalyst systems are therefore required to upgrade the material into a more suitable fuel product.
Axens is drawing on more than 300 hydroprocessing references worldwide, including technologies for distillate hydrotreating, waste-lubricant recycling and waste-plastic pyrolysis oil processing.
The experience is particularly relevant because tire-derived oil cannot simply be treated as conventional crude oil. Its sulfur, nitrogen, metals and other contaminants can affect catalysts and downstream equipment, making feed pretreatment and impurity management important parts of the process.
A New Route for End-of-Life Tires
The U.S. project comes as tire recycling technologies are attracting greater attention as companies look for higher-value routes for difficult waste streams.
Tires contain rubber, carbon black, steel and other materials that make conventional mechanical recycling challenging. Pyrolysis offers a thermochemical route that can separate these components into different product streams.
Research published in 2026 describes tire pyrolysis as a promising method for converting waste tires into gas, oil and solid products while recovering resources from the waste stream.
The refinery-based approach is particularly interesting because existing hydroprocessing infrastructure can potentially be adapted or integrated with alternative feedstocks. Research on the concept of "waste refineries" has identified hydroprocessing, fluid catalytic cracking, steam cracking and coking units as potential pathways for processing tire and plastic-derived streams.
Low-Sulfur Fuel Is the First Target
The planned U.S. facility is not initially targeting a new petrochemical product. Its stated objective is to upgrade tire pyrolysis oil into low-sulfur fuel for the local market.
The product specification calls for sulfur content of no more than 500 ppm. This makes upgrading technology central to the project's commercial proposition because crude TPO generally requires treatment before it can meet defined fuel-quality requirements.
The project therefore creates a chain running from discarded tires to pyrolysis, followed by hydroprocessing and finally fuel production.
Turning a Waste Problem Into a Feedstock Opportunity
The project also addresses the growing challenge of managing scrap tires in the United States.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in March 2026 that approximately 48 million abandoned scrap tires remained across at least 23 states and Tribal lands. The agency proposed changes that would allow certain abandoned scrap tires to be used as fuel, highlighting the scale of the waste issue.
Chemical and thermochemical recycling offers another pathway by recovering materials and hydrocarbons from tires rather than treating them solely as waste or fuel.
The value proposition is therefore broader than fuel production. A successful commercial model could combine waste diversion with the production of useful hydrocarbon products.
Tire Pyrolysis Oil Is Gaining Industrial Attention
The U.S. project is part of a broader movement toward treating tire pyrolysis oil as an industrial feedstock.
Neste previously demonstrated the potential to process tire-derived pyrolysis oil in refinery infrastructure. In 2024, the company successfully processed pyrolysis oil made from discarded tires at its refinery in Porvoo, Finland, producing a raw material suitable for chemicals and plastics. The oil was supplied by Scandinavian Enviro Systems.
The trial showed that refinery processing technology can potentially handle hydrocarbon streams derived from waste tires rather than relying exclusively on fossil-based feedstocks.
Other parts of the tire industry are also developing circular applications. Bridgestone, for example, has incorporated recycled carbon black made from scrap tires into its products, while tire pyrolysis can simultaneously generate TPO as a co-product.
The Project Still Has to Clear the Investment Stage
Despite the technology selection, the U.S. facility is not yet an operating refinery.
The project remains in FEED, meaning detailed engineering and project definition are still underway. The developer is targeting a Final Investment Decision in 2027.
This means construction, commissioning and commercial production remain subject to future investment decisions and project execution.
The next stage will determine whether the economics of tire collection, pyrolysis, oil upgrading, hydrogen consumption, catalyst requirements and fuel sales can support a commercially competitive operation.
Why Refineries Are Looking Beyond Crude Oil
The project reflects a broader change in how refinery technology can be used.
Traditional refineries were designed around crude oil, but hydroprocessing units and other conversion technologies can potentially be adapted to process selected alternative feedstocks. Waste-derived oils, renewable oils and pyrolysis oils are increasingly being evaluated as additional sources of hydrocarbons.
For tire recycling, this creates the possibility of connecting two industries that have traditionally operated separately: waste management and petroleum refining.
If projects such as the U.S. facility reach commercial operation, discarded tires could increasingly become a source of refinery feedstock rather than simply a disposal challenge.
Sources:
2-Ethyl Hexanol
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