Promise of pyrolysis in tire circularity
by Andreas Kyriakou and Claus Lamer, Weibold.
A large shift is afoot in the tire waste stream sector. Over the last 25 years, tire recycling has experienced a measured, organic growth, fueled by individual efforts and small incremental successes in finding applications for the tire materials. Processes have focused on mechanical decomposition of tires and finding recovery paths for the steel, rubber and fiber contained in them. Governmental oversight in western countries has engendered valuable systems for collection, tracking and accounting for the end of life tires (ELTs). Many innovative applications have been developed, such as sports turf and civil engineering applications; and significant portions of the material are also being used in the manufacture of recycled products, such as mats, simple automobile parts, road signs and others. Other portions are used for energy purposes and are incinerated in cement kilns and other burners.