A PROJECT ON THE PYROLYSI S OF USED

TI RES W. R. T. SOLI D WASTE MANAGEMENT

Col l ege Of Ear t h & Envi r onment al Sci ences
Uni ver s i t y of t he Punj ab

Mu hammad I mr an Raf i q M. Ph i l - 25
Mu hammad Ab dul Rauf M. Ph i l - 04
Fa r i d Zi a M Ph i l - 02
Zah i d Ma hmood M Ph i l 09
M. I mr an Raf i q M Ph i l 25
Mr . Adn an MS36
Aj mal Shah z ad MS42
Ri z wa n Ghu l am Nab i MPh i l 12



March 2012

1. INTRODUCTION
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water
supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded materials including
solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial,
mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solid or
dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows
or industrial discharges that are point sources.
Some examples of solid wastes are:
waste tires
septage
scrap metal
latex paints
furniture and toys
domestic refuse (garbage)
discarded appliances and vehicles
uncontaminated used oil and anti-freeze
empty aerosol cans, paint cans and compressed gas cylinders
construction and demolition debris, asbestos
Renewable energy that includes using of waste tyres as a raw material and producing green
fuel oil, carbon black, steel and gas. Billions of waste tyres are available in all over the world.
We can't burn or landfills them due to pollution problems. There is no any other use of these
waste tyres. So, we have found a solution for these waste tyres. We separate all content from
waste tyre and make it complete renewable process. The process developed is a 100 %
emission free system, thus making the world cleaner and greener. Capacity of plant is almost
4000 liters of fuel oil. The investment will be recovered in 12-14 months.
Thermal depolymerization (TDP) process is a waste treatment process that is incredibly efficient
and has three by-products, high-quality oil, clean-burning gas, and purified minerals that can be
used as fuels, fertilizers, or specialty chemicals for manufacturing.

2. THE PYROLYSIS OF USED TIRES W.R.T. SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT
2.1 Typical Composition of a Tire
Synthetic Rubber
Natural Rubber
Sulfur and sulfur compounds
Silica
Phenolic resin
Oil: aromatic, naphthenic, paraffinic
Fabric: Polyester, Nylon, Etc.
Petroleum waxes
Pigments: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
Carbon black
Fatty acids
Inert materials
Steel Wire
2.2 Used Tires are problem for the world
Tire waste and its disposal is a worldwide problem. Tires are not biodegradable; hence the time
required for their decomposition is undetermined. Due to their chemical composition, tires, when
burnt, release organic and inorganic pollutants to the air and soil, including hydrocarbons,
dioxins, and other toxic substances. Tire disposal requires special and expensive technology,
and ultimately the elimination of waste tires is not guaranteed. Developing countries face
additional problems dealing with tire waste, including lack of technical capacity. Additionally, due
to their shape and impermeability, disposed waste tires (including retreaded tires) can hold
water for long periods, providing sites for mosquito larvae development. Thus, given that tires in
developing countries are often disposed of in landfills and illegal dumps, tires become vectors
for diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, and dengue.
Used tires and tire material can often be recycled, for instance by tire retreading. Tire
retreading, like other forms of tire recycling, postpones the eventual disposal of a tire. Tire
retreading contributes to a reduction in the total amount of tires used and disposed of over time,
because retreading
2.3 Environmental Impacts of used tires
Tires are non-biodegradable materials.
They are suspected to be the habitat of Dengue causing mosquitos.
Handling large quantities is a huge problem.
Direct burning in kilns and incinerators produce ash, fumes and toxic gases.
2.4 Management of used tyres
2.4.1 Mechanical Shredding:
The material is cut into pieces up to 600-800 m through a purely mechanical manner. Firstly
the tyres are shredded up to 3/4 inches, the removal of metal parts and fibers follows and lastly,
a further shredding takes place till the final product.
2.4.2 Cryogenic Grinding
The method is similar with the above. The difference is that the grinding of the polymer is
achieved through a cooling device, which subjects the material to0 C temperature. Therefore,
the removal of metal parts and fibers become easier.
2.4.3 Thermal process (Dry Distillation Technique):

The tyres are processed through a two zone burner. In the first zone, the tyres are thermalized
in the absence of air, while in the second zone at the lower part of the burner they are burned in
the presence of air. The temperature varies from 500 to 900 C. The final products are oil,
gases, Carbon Black, tar and wires.
2.4.4 Combustion in cement kilns:
The method is based on the total combustion of the tyres within the cement kiln. The
temperatures in the cement kilns are such, that the tyres are almost instantly burned, without
any residue left.
2.4.5 Co-processing with coal:
Tyres are granulated and then they are burnt with coal (tyres: coal=1:6). The temperature in the
furnace rises up to 1500 C and superheated vapouris produced. The produced vapor is used
for the operation of two turbines, which produce electricity.
2.4.6 Pyrolysis:
The tyres are conveyed to the pyrolytic reactor where heated gases (600 C), in the absence of
oxygen, are also introduced. The organic matter of the tyres is subjected to degradation
(cracking of the carbonic chains). Finally solid carbon fraction, high level steel, non-condensable
gases and oil fraction are produced.
2.4.7 Vacuum Pyrolysis:
The method is an evolution of the previous one. Tires after been preheated, are heated in the
pyrolytic reactor and from their fission heavy as also light oil, steel, Carbon Black and non-
condensed gases are produced.

2.5 Aftermath of Direct Burning of Tires
It is highly inaccurate to state that tire derived fuel (TDF), "does not contain hazardous
materials,". Tires are manufactured from petrochemical feed stocks such as styrene and
butadiene, which are both being classified as human carcinogens. Styrene is a benzene
derivative and burning tires releases styrene and several benzene compounds. Butadiene is a
highly carcinogenic four-carbon compound that may also be released from the styrene-
butadiene (SBR rubber its called) polymer form during combustion. Chemical composition tests
on waste rubber show that it contains numerous toxic and hazardous air pollutants and once
burned these can become airborne. The lab results somewhere on tests that I helped to perform
as a state official, and we were surprised that waste rubber from SSBR was not classified as a
hazardous waste. M, P and O-Xylenes may also be found in TDF which are benzene derivatives
and carcinogenic.
Tires-older tires-used to be made from chloroprene achlorine-containing petrochemical used
less and less today in tire manufacturing. Polybutadiene is another polymer used to make
synthetic rubber for tires.
Aromatic extender oils comprise about 25% of most tires and are known to cause cancer in lab
animals as well as being suspected human carcinogens. These are highly aromatic-multiple
benzene-containing chemicals-petroleum waste materials with complex ring structures that are
even more difficult to burn than benzene, which has a highly stabile ring structure that makes
good combustion far more difficult than burning natural gas or straight chain carbon compounds.
Anything with benzene will require higher combustion temperatures, higher residence times and
higher oxygen to break apart the six-carbon ring with electron clouds above and below that
protect the ring from easy chemical breakdown. The thick black oil and black smoke that one
sees when tires are burning outdoors is due solely to the aromatic extender oils; they too
require higher combustion temperatures, higher residence times and higher oxygen to break
down fully to CO2 and water.
There is a serious public health issue near cement kilns. Cement kilns certainly do have
combustion upsets and smoke may be emitted during such events. Cement kilns are not
designed or required to have major fail-safe combustion devices such as large afterburners that
all state-of-the-art incinerators must have by federal law today (all medical, municipal, and
hazardous waste incinerators cannot operate without their afterburner or secondary combustion
chambers in normal operation). The afterburner is required because of the potential for flame
outs and total combustion failure in the primary burn chamber, which is all that cement kilns
possess. Cement kilns have no fail safe combustion devices which are unthinkable today in all
incinerators.
Cement kilns are subject to a variety of problems, including a type of meltdown of the kiln when
the ID fans lose power or fail to operate, without adequate air flow to control kiln temperatures at
or below 3,000 degrees F, the kiln temperature may skyrocket quickly to 4,000 degrees F and
the kiln is so hot that the steel shell sags toward the ground effectively destroying the kiln. Kiln
meltdowns are not rare events and have happened Taxas at several plants in the last ten years.
Cement companies do not like to talk about this problem.
These are just a few of the technical issues surrounding combustion problems observed in
cement kilns. The bottom line is that they are not designed, not built and not operated as state-
of-the-art incineration devices.
Efficient industrial pyrolysis is a process to treat the rubber tyre waste. Pyrolysis is the
decomposition of organic compounds under oxygen free atmosphere that produces gas, oil,
carbon black and steel.
2.6.1 Fuel oil (40 to 45%)
The main oil product produced by our recycling application is the fuel oil that is wide used for
industrial and commercial purposes. The calorific value of fuel oil produced has higher than the
diesel oil. The oil has 40%-45% of the amount of recycled scrap tires, which will be carried with
licensed tanker trucks.
2.6.1 Carbon black (30 to 35%)
Carbon Black is the main product recycled by pyrolysis technology. The amount of recycled
carbon black is 35%-42% (depending on the type of tyre) of the total amount of scrap tires
recycled in the system. Carbon black is used as raw material or main ingredient in many
industries and the chemical structure of carbon black strengthens, lengthens the endurance,
and improves the coloring features of the materials.
Carbon black produced by pyrolysis application (CB) is more economical compared to carbon
black produced primarily from petroleum and is more price-efficient to be used as an ingredient
in the industries like:
Electric cable jacketing, Conveyor band, Carrier Bands, Hose and doormat, Black nylon bag,
Rubber additive, Automotive spare parts, Heat isolation, Black colorant in rubber materials,
Plastic pipe, Industrial rubber products, firefighting etc. etc.
2.6.2 Steel wire (10 to 15%)
Tyres contain steel wires and the amount ranges from 10% 15% of the total tire weight. All of
the steel present in the tyre can be detached after the pyrolysis recycling process is completed.
Valuable steel wires are pressed and sold to steel and scrap dealers.
2.6.3 Gas (10 to 12%)
Process Flow
This is the batch process systems.
The waste tyre is fed into the reactor vessel and heated under controlled conditions of
temperature and pressure.
The process will bring about molecular restructuring of the rubber under the pyrolysis
process as the result; furnace oil in gaseous form is produced along with other gases.
These vaporized gases are passed through heat exchanges, where in the furnace oil
gas is condensed into liquid form.
During the process, carbon black is generated.
The heat exchanger uses coolant water, as the condensing medium and this water is re-
circulated.
These systems can be operated 24/7














Fig. 1 Process scheme of the tire processing

Evaporator
tank
De-dusting system
and water storage
tanks
Safety Tank
Carbon
Black

Furnace
Reactor Condensor
Vent
Fuel Oil storage tank
Gas
filtration
To furnace


Mini Furnace
From Gas Tank
To Furnace
Gas Filtration
Tank
Oil Tank
Condenser I Condenser II Safety Tank
Carbon conveyer
+ Carbon hopper
Expansion
joint
Heavy oil tank
Gas vent
Oil pump
Sludge Tank
Reactor
Dedusting system &
Water storage tank
4-way line
Evaporator
tank
Visible glass
Man hole
Blower
Raw Material
Gate valve
Gate valve
T
T
P
P
PSV
Vent
Level
Level
Level
Level
bagging
( Scrape Tyre )

Fig. 2 Tyre Recycling Plant (Process Flow Diagram)

Recycling plant consisting on following parts:
Sr. Item Sr. Item Sr. Item Sr. Item
1
Pyrolysis reactor
complete set.
6
Gas tank
11
Condenser
16
Carbon shifting
conveyor
2
Carbon recovery tank
7
Blower
12
Cooling tower
17
Draft fan
3
Evaporator tank
8
Smoke de-dusting
system
13
Smoke pipes
18
Motor with
Pumps
4
Heat Exchanger
9
Power controller
panel
14
Oil pipes
19
Gas collection
tank
5
Gas chimney
10
Sludge tank
15
Oil storage tank
20
Burners

2.7 Analytical techniques for gases and products
There are several techniques for the analysis.
1) Flash point testing closed cup and open cup.
2) Boiling point
3) Auto ignition test
4) Vapor pressure testing
5) Viscosity analysis
6) Pour point / cloud point
7) Sulfur content
8) HPLC
9) GC
10) Calorific value
11) Volatile percentage


3. FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE PROJECT
There is a lot of space to research and develop methods to bring improvements in the project.
The aspects that still need to be worked on include:
Development of simulator for optimum yield
To further decrease pollutants of this process
Conversion of fuel oil to Diesel oil and LPG
Optimization of process variables