It has a high amount of aromatic hydrocarbon content, over 50 per cent. This significant amount of carbon is bio-based because end-of-life tires (ELTs) are partly made of natural rubber.
After several finishing processes, it can be used as a circular feedstock in the chemical and oil & gas industry.
Recovered tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) can be a circular opportunity for many fossil-based feedstocks and oils.
TPO is a thick, viscous dark brown or black liquid that can be semi-solid in cooler temperatures. It’s a complex mixture of hydrocarbon families with varying carbon numbers of C5 – C50. These consist of 49.54 per cent aliphatic compounds and 16.65 per cent aromatic compounds, like xylene, etc. The hydrocarbons have a wide range of boiling points from 70 ºC to 450 ºC (Pilusa 2013).
TPO composition will depend on tire types, pyrolysis technology, and conditions. However, the average TPO composition (Pilusa et al., 2013) is as follows:
Carbon: 83 per cent by weight
Hydrogen: 6.6 per cent by weight
Oxygen: 8.6 per cent by weight
Nitrogen: 0.3 per cent by weight
Sulphur: 1 per cent by weight
The various components of TPO will influence the oil’s physical and chemical properties and behaviour (Jammel 2018).
At Contec, we provide recovered Carbon Black (rCB) of consistent and stable quality.
Contec’s ConBlack® comes from an established technological and operational process – from the initial tire shredding and unique pyrolysis process to the post-treatment line based on the best-in-class solutions.
Our in-house testing laboratory ensures that our customers get the highest quality rCB possible.
We invested heavily in the research and development of the entire pyrolysis process.
Our team closely facilitated the beginning of R&D with the Warsaw University of Technology and continued during the technology design, the building of the pilot plant, and the launching of the technology demonstrator. We now have two pyrolysis lines in operation at the Szczecin plant.
R&D at Contec continues because it’s essential to finding viable circular solutions that enable manufacturers to reach Net Zero targets. The unique R&D process improves the laboratory facilities and tests the effect of every technology process change on product quality.
Many industrial manufacturing processes present considerable safety hazards and risks.
We take great care to make the pyrolysis process as safe as it can be for our workers by implementing safety protocols and applying controlled spaces in the plant.
All of the processes at our full-scale production location comply with safety and quality standards which are reviewed by external auditors. We regularly perform operator training and have safety procedures in place. We also apply automated safety systems to the technology. As experienced operators, we know that safety comes with preventative maintenance.
At Contec, we provide recovered Carbon Black (rCB) of consistent and stable quality.
Contec’s ConBlack® comes from an established technological and operational process – from the initial tire shredding and unique pyrolysis process to the post-treatment line based on the best-in-class solutions.
Our in-house testing laboratory ensures that our customers get the highest quality rCB possible.
Industries are looking to increase the use of secondary products in their manufacturing processes to improve circularity. TPO is a circular and sustainable product whose range of potential applications positions it as a valuable secondary raw material.
The high carbon content of TPO makes it an interesting raw material for producing high-value carbon products. TPO is also called bunker oil or black liquor because of its composition and properties that are similar to petroleum products. It could be used in place of diesel for internal combustion engines, after distillation and removing undesirable chemicals like sulphur and nitrogen using existing refinery facilities.
Moreover, heavy aromatic compounds make TPO suitable for producing carbon black (CB) by replacing fossil fuel feedstocks, which make up 60 per cent of the manufacturing costs of CB (Martinez et al., 2023). Xylene in TPO also has several applications in the chemical industry.
It’s possible to increase the value TPO can bring to industries by introducing standards and regulations for the tire pyrolysis industry. Creating demand will also stabilise supply and prices to reduce raw material bottlenecks.
Conventional ELT recycled products like rubber crumbs have reached market saturation. TPO’s high value and wide range of applications in the circular economy can also make pyrolysis upcycling of ELTs profitable, more sustainable, and attractive globally. Though ELT recycling is high in the EU, it is very low in several regions worldwide.
