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Large amounts of recycled rubber crumb utilised for the manufacture of road surfaces and related products is propelling South Africa towards a circular economy where waste products are used to address critical infrastructure needs.

SAs new roads made from recycled rubber

Dr Mehran Zarrebini, CEO of Hammarsdale-based radial truck tyre recycler, Mathe Group, points out that much of the production from Mathe Group factory, which recycles approximately 1,000 radial truck tyres per day, is able to produce 45 tons of rubber crumb.

This crumb goes to bitumen product manufacturer, Tosas, for the manufacture of rubber modified bitumen, a product that the South Africa National Road Agency (SANRAL) is using for massive upgrades to the N1 in Gauteng and the N2 / N3 leading from the port of Durban. 

Bitumen product manufacturer, Tosas, approached Mathe Group in 2016 for the supply of rubber crumb. This was shortly after Mathe Group moved from a small facility in New Germany to its present location in Hammarsdale.

Deon Pagel, managing director of Tosas, explains that Tosas has been operating for more than five decades and was originally jointly owned by Total and Sasol.

He says Tosas became a leading bitumen-supplying company by always keeping abreast of the latest technological developments.

According to Pagel, although people still refer to so-called black top roads as “tarred” roads, the use of tar which is extracted from coal and is carcinogenic has been discontinued and replaced with bitumen, which is extracted from crude oil.

“This is one of the most superior road bitumen products in the world and, on top of that, you have the benefit of recycling. You take old tyres and convert them into a usable product. It is a win-win,” he notes.

This win-win has extended to the point where bitumen rubber has now been generically specified by the government and other road authorities and owners for use in constructing roads throughout the country.

Mathe Group’s role goes beyond simply producing rubber crumb through ambient grinding of radial truck tyres for Tosas. Together with Tosas, it designed and developed a second plant to produce what is known as New Crumb Rubber Technology (NCRT).

This involves coating the rubber crumb with aromatic oil and specialised waxes to produce a pre-swollen rubber crumb that is bitumen rubber for asphalt mixes and spray seal applications with greater longevity and much lower mixing temperatures.

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