The bitumen rubber plant on the Zala platform in Hungary, representing an investment of approximately USD 10 million, has been completed. The plant, built in one year, has an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons of bitumen rubber. In addition to recycling 8-10% of household tire waste from Hungary, the new plant will contribute to the efficient operation of the Zala platform and the preservation of over 100 jobs.

About 3,000 tons of rubber waste are used annually to produce bitumen rubber by recycling about half a million used tires, representing about 8-10% of household tire waste produced annually nationwide. The new plant can produce about 96 tons of bitumen rubber per day, which translates annually into 20,000 tons of raw material for road construction, enough to build 200 km of road with 2X1 lanes or to restore the top layer of 600 km of road with 2×1 lanes.

In 2012, the Zala platform was inaugurated and successfully operated a pilot bitumen rubber plant with an annual capacity of 5,000 tons. In response to growing demand, MOL began construction of a new plant in the spring of 2019. The plant was completed in approximately one year, with work continuing despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with appropriate precautions. The fact that no working days were lost during the implementation of the project is an important achievement.

“The capacity of 96 tons per day is enough to meet the demand for bitumen for larger volumes of road construction works. Moreover, this quantity also offers the opportunity to explore new business opportunities in the surrounding countries. Given that chemically stabilized bitumen rubber is MOL patented, the sale of the license could be an additional opportunity to use, and the new plant is an excellent example of this. In the last 8 years, about 150 km of road sections have been built or renovated in Hungary using bitumen rubber, and now the volume can increase due to the newly added production capacity. The production of 20,000 tons covers about 10-15% of domestic bitumen demand. The MOL Group aims to establish itself as a market leader in the recycling segment in Central and Eastern Europe, in the process of implementing the Enter Tomorrow 2030 Strategy and the completion of this plant is a new element in this direction,” said Tibor Zsinkó, Vice President MOL Hungary for the Downstream segment.