Lukoil develops technology which uses old tires to produce rubber modifier for road pavement

MOSCOW. July 19 (Interfax) - LLK International, a wholly-owned Lukoil subsidiary, has developed a technology for the production of a rubber complex modifier from recycled raw materials, namely a rubber crumb made from oversized tires, which come from its oil company partners involved in the disposal of used tires from mining trucks.

As stated in the LUKOIL sustainability report, a complex rubber modifier is a rubber-polymer mixture based on rubber crumbs with the addition of other components designed to be introduced into a mixer during the production of asphalt concrete.

When this modifier combined with a binder, a material used for the preparation of asphalt concrete and superior in characteristics to road bitumen (produced at the Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery), increased mobility of the final mixture is achieved during manufacture, laying and compaction.

"As a result, the performance of the roadway is improved, with resistance to rutting and cracking, especially at low temperatures, and in terms of service life. This is important for the construction of highways with a high traffic load, and high-speed highways, as well as airfield runways," the report says.

In addition, recycling tires into crumbed rubber is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of them, Lukoil said. For example, just one large mining company can generate about 6,000 tonnes of used tires suitable for recycling per year. According to various estimates, only about 30% of old tires are recycled in Russia, the Lukoil report says.

At the initial stage of implementation, the company will interact with one holding partner, and plans to expand cooperation in the future. The first control sections of rubber-asphalt-concrete pavements using new Lukoil materials are already in place and operating on highways in the Nizhny Novgorod, Tula and Rostov regions. In 2022, 10 new sections were built and put into operation.

LLK-International oversees the production and sale of Lukoil oils and lubricants, and manufactures products at nine plants in Russia and abroad. The products are shipped to over 100 countries.