BASF and Cromology: Wall paint made from used tires

BASF and the French paint manufacturer Cromology are expanding their collaboration in the area of circular economy for the paint and coatings industry. In future, Cromology will use BASF's chemically recycled acrylic binder Acronal Ccycled for selected interior wall paints. The binder is used in the interior wall paint Tollens Maxiline+, which has been available in France since March 2026. The aim is to reduce the proportion of fossil raw materials in decorative coatings without changing properties such as quality, processing or performance. The concept is based on the use of raw materials from chemical recycling. Used tires are converted into a secondary raw material and then reintroduced into industrial material cycles. According to the companies, this enables the production of coating materials with a reduced carbon footprint while maintaining the same product performance.

Used tires become new raw materials for wall paints

As part of BASF's ChemCycling process, used tires are first processed into pyrolysis oil by technology partners. This is then used as a raw material in composite production, where it replaces a proportion of fossil input materials. The proportion of recycled raw materials is mathematically allocated to specific products using a certified mass balance approach. The resulting Ccycled binders are REDcert² certified and, according to the manufacturer, can be integrated into existing formulations for paints without any adjustments. Tollens Maxiline+ interior wall paint has also been certified in accordance with REDcert² to ensure traceability along the value chain. According to the company, the amount of pyrolysis oil used in a 10-liter container corresponds approximately to the raw material content of two used tires. With this project, BASF and Cromology want to expand the use of circular raw materials in coating systems and further establish circular solutions in the decorative paints market.