Sustainable tyre remanufacturing: an agent-based simulation modelling approach

Abstract

This paper addresses sustainable benefits of remanufacturing tyres. An agent-based simulation approach is used to tackle this research problem by identifying different agents such as tyre, collector, recycler and remanufacturer. Details related to every agent are provided to show the decisions taken by these agents and the impact that may have on tyres' remanufacturing industry. Relying on input data from published reports and papers by academics and professional organisations, experiments are conducted on various scenarios to show the benefits of increasing the retread percentage of passenger car tyres. The results show that retreaded tyre can capture almost 25% of replacement (sales) market, resulting in significant reduction in scrap tyres and raw material consumption. This percentage can further be increased by increasing the number of retreads per used tyre and the life of tread rubber. The output results help in finding the profit break‐even point at various levels of retread. The results also show other decision-making implications, particularly related to rejection rate and ways to reduce it.