Rubber and Tire Recycling Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing peaked in 2022 at 17 records and has not been exceeded since, with the trend flat to declining rather than accelerating into the current filing year.
- One company leads with 19 records against a ranked field of five assignees, but the ranking is too small to compute a reliable concentration share from record volume alone.
- Nine in ten records touch polymer processing (C08J) while only 13.3% carry a C08L polymer-composition class, leaving that combination thinly claimed relative to the core.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent filings at the intersection of tire recycling, rubber recycling and devulcanization, scoped to records that combine tire- and rubber-recycling language with technical claim terms such as crumb rubber production, devulcanization degree, pyrolysis carbon black quality, rubber-modified asphalt and end-of-life tire regulation. The IPC scope is anchored on B29B17 (recovery of plastics/rubber waste), C08J11 (recovery or working-up of waste rubber) and C08L17 (rubber compositions), which together define the technical boundary of the search rather than the full universe of tire-related patents.
The scope favours records where devulcanization or crumb-rubber processing is a claimed technical step, not simply mentioned in passing. Readers using this page to plan freedom-to-operate work should treat the 30 records in scope as a bounded technical slice, not as every tire-recycling filing worldwide.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 30-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those records distribute across the IPC subclasses that define the field.
A single peak year, no renewed acceleration
Filing rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 17 records in 2022, then did not sustain that level. With 2022 as the midpoint of the trend and no year since exceeding it, the pattern reads as flat-to-declining rather than a technology still gathering momentum. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent year is understated and should not be read as a genuine drop-off on its own.
Processing and treatment classes dominate; compositions are thin
C08J (polymer processing and solutions) and C08C (rubber treatment) each appear in the large majority of records — 90.0% and 83.3% of the 30 records in scope, respectively — confirming that most filings claim a processing or treatment step rather than a novel material composition. B29B (plastics preparation) and C08K (additives) sit near half the dataset at 53.3% and 50.0%. C08L (polymer compositions), by contrast, appears in only 13.3% of records, and B29C (shaping of plastics) in just 6.7% — the two classes least represented relative to the processing-heavy core.
Shares are the percentage of the 30 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Rubber and Tire Recycling with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about rubber and tire recycling and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative filing
WO2022254390A1 — Devulcanizing additive, relative method of devulcanization and devulcanized product
A devulcanizing additive for vulcanized elastomers is described, said additive having improved efficiency and selectivity, together with the relative method of devulcanization, in continuous and batchwise, and the devulcanized product obtained by means of said devulcanization method of vulcanized elastomers.Filed by Rubber Conversion S.r.l., published 2022-12-08. Notable for claiming both a chemical additive and the associated continuous/batch process, which broadens the scope beyond a single reaction chemistry.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN111675828A | 一种液体再生橡胶的制备工艺 | 5 |
| 2 | WO2022254390A1 | Devulcanizing additive, relative method of devulcanization and devulcanized product | 3 |
| 3 | US20200181372A1 | Method for producing recycled thermoplastic rubber masterbatch with improved green strength and tack | 3 |
| 4 | WO2018220618A1 | Method for producing recycled thermoplastic rubber masterbatch with improved green strength and tack | 2 |
| 5 | RU2098436C1 | Composition for rubber waste processing | 2 |
| 6 | CA3221178A1 | Devulcanizing additive, relative method of devulcanization and devulcanized product | 1 |
| 7 | EP3630876A1 | Method for producing recycled thermoplastic rubber masterbatch with improved green strength and tack | 1 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current technical importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (7 of 7 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading the trend, the IPC split and the citation table together points to a field with occupied processing claims but comparatively open composition and shaping space.
Momentum has not renewed since the 2022 peak
The filing count rose steadily to 17 records in 2022 and has not been matched or exceeded since. That flat-to-declining pattern, combined with the 18-month publication lag, suggests the field is past its first filing wave rather than still building toward one.
Processing claims dominate; composition claims are scarce
Nine in ten records touch C08J polymer processing, but only 13.3% carry a C08L polymer-composition class. That gap indicates most applicants are claiming how material is treated rather than what the resulting compound is made of.
Liquid reclaimed rubber and masterbatch processes draw the most follow-on interest
The most-cited record concerns a liquid reclaimed-rubber preparation process, followed closely by devulcanization-additive and recycled thermoplastic-masterbatch filings. That clustering suggests examiners and applicants treat liquid-phase reclamation and masterbatch quality as the reference points to cite against.
A short, uneven ranked field
The ranking returned by this dataset covers five assignees, with the leader at 19 records and the fifth-ranked filer at a single record. That spread is a small-field pattern, not a market-share statistic, and should not be read as a concentration percentage.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to rubber and tire recycling, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignees and where their activity sits
Five assignees make up the entire ranking this dataset returns. One holds a clear lead in volume; the rest sit far behind it, including one pair of related entities that co-file together.
One assignee accounts for the bulk of ranked filings
The top-ranked assignee holds 19 of the records captured in this ranking, well ahead of the rest of the field. Its recent-year momentum is listed at zero for the latest year, consistent with the dataset's broader flat-to-declining trend rather than a company-specific slowdown.
A single related-entity filing pair
The dataset's only notable co-assignee relationship links two Chinese rubber-machinery firms that file jointly, pointing to a manufacturing-equipment angle on recycling technology rather than a pure chemistry angle.
Most of the ranked field files once
Below the leader, ranked assignees drop off quickly to a single filing each. That long tail is typical of a technical niche where individual labs, equipment makers or regional recyclers file opportunistically rather than building a sustained portfolio.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Rubber Conversion S.r.l. | 0 | — |
| TIREC LTD | 0 | — |
| Suqian Lvjinren Rubber & Plastic Machinery Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Nanjing Lvjinren Rubber & Plastic High-Tech Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| FA ARKHTEKHSTROM | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
This landscape identifies the filing pattern and the technical gaps; the next step is testing a specific claim or route against the full corpus.
Check a devulcanization or crumb-rubber claim against prior art
Run a specific process or additive claim through a fuller prior-art search before drafting, particularly if it touches the C08L composition space this dataset shows as thin.
Search prior art in EurekaTrack the leading filer's portfolio in detail
Pull the full portfolio behind the 19-record leader to see which sub-claims it holds and where its coverage stops.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaMonitor filing activity past the current data cut-off
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, set an alert to catch 2025–2026 filings as they publish rather than assuming the recent flat trend is final.
Set a filing alert in EurekaCommon questions about tire and rubber recycling patents
The dominant patented approach in this dataset is devulcanization combined with polymer processing, reflected in the 90.0% of records that carry a C08J polymer-processing classification and the 83.3% that carry C08C rubber-treatment. This means most filings claim a treatment or processing step applied to waste rubber, such as chemical or mechanical devulcanization, rather than a new rubber compound. Crumb rubber production and pyrolysis-based carbon black recovery are the two process families most frequently referenced in claim language within scope.
This dataset's ranking covers five assignees, with one company holding 19 of the ranked records and the remaining four trailing well behind, down to a single record for the fifth-ranked filer. That is a small, uneven field rather than a broad competitive set, so a five-name ranking should not be read as representative of the entire global industry. Readers should treat the leader as the most active known filer in this specific technical scope, not as a market-share leader.
Filing activity rose from zero records in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2022, and has not exceeded that level since, making the overall trend flat to declining through the most recent complete years. Because patent publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, the very latest year in any dataset understates true activity, so a soft recent year should not be read as a hard stop. Still, the absence of a second wave past 2022 is a real signal that first-generation devulcanization claims have already been staked out.
The IPC composition shows C08L (polymer compositions) present in only 13.3% of the 30 records in scope, and B29C (shaping of plastics) in just 6.7%, both well below the 90.0% and 83.3% shares held by the core processing classes. That gap suggests composition-level claims on devulcanized rubber, and claims combining recycled rubber with downstream shaping or moulding steps, are comparatively under-claimed relative to the processing core. Rubber-modified asphalt and pyrolysis carbon-black quality control are named search terms in this scope that also warrant closer freedom-to-operate review given their narrower representation.
WO2022254390A1, filed by Rubber Conversion S.r.l. and published 2022-12-08, claims a devulcanizing additive for vulcanized elastomers along with the associated devulcanization method, covering both continuous and batch operation, plus the resulting devulcanized product. Because it claims the additive chemistry, the process, and the product together, it has broader reach than a single-reaction patent and is relevant to anyone developing a chemical devulcanization additive or a continuous devulcanization line. Companies working on alternative devulcanization chemistries should review its specific additive composition and selectivity claims closely before finalising a competing formulation.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.