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This article is a review by Claus Lamer, a Co-Founder at Carbon Recovery GmbH. Weibold’s Academy article series discusses periodically the practical developments and scientific research findings in the end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling and pyrolysis industry. One of the goals is to give entrepreneurs in this industry, project initiators, investors and also the public, a better insight into a rapidly growing circular economy. At the same time, this article series should also be a stimulus for discussion.

This article should give an overview over the recent development trends regarding the options for an upgrade of the tire-derived oil (TDO) with chemical and physical techniques. In two previous articles we have already dealt with the production of limonene and highlighted the advantages of fractional distillation of TDO. Introduction Refiners around the world are looking for alternatives to producing fuels from petrochemicals only. This is due to expected future declines in crude oil reserves combined with significant fuel demand growth expectations throughout the world and increasing environmental awareness among the population.

Recycling tires into materials such as steel-free crumb rubber and fine rubber powder used to be a profitable venture; however, due to market saturation in developed economies, tire recycling companies might want to shift their focus from raw materials to potentially higher-priced consumer goods made from recycled rubber or even virgin rubber which can be replaced by tire-derived materials. The first and so far one of the most viable choices of tire recyclers would be investing in presses and molds to produce molded goods from crumb rubber or rubber powder. Another options include more complex technologies, e.g. blending recycled rubber powder with polyethylene or polypropylene to produce thermoplastic elastomers (TPE).

To build a successful tire recycling or pyrolysis business, one needs to first of all identify markets and products and properly build sales channels. This is a rather complex task, as it is composed of many difficult and field-specific details.Nowadays one may think of the Internet as a pioneering marketing tool to help sell products. Partly this is true, as there are many platforms for retailing or wholesaling across the entire world. But despite the ease of launching online sales, feasibility needs to be carefully calculated before you start recycling tires.

Attempting to cut costs while launching a tire recycling or pyrolysis business, young companies often fall prey to low-quality equipment manufacturers whose equipment does not correspond to their promises. Typically, such a low quality equipment has far more attractive prices and very often it comes from Asian countries, where labor costs are still very low. Despite the low price, such an equipment can kill a young pyrolysis company or significantly undermine it’s operation. In this article Weibold focuses on issues of low-priced pyrolysis machinery and sheds light on the most common problems occurring with pyrolysis equipment suppliers from the Far East.

The advantages of pyrolysis to tackle the world's growing disposal problem with end-of-life tires (ELT) in terms of a circular economy were described extensively in the last decade. Pyrolysis is a thermal process that converts organic rubber material into low molecular weight compounds such as pyrolysis gas, pyrolysis oil and raw recovered Carbon Black (ASTM 8178-20a). In contrast to the incineration of ELT, which is often condescendingly referred to as "thermal recycling" or „waste-to-energy“, pyrolysis does not destroy any raw materials, but breaks down the waste product into its chemical raw material components and makes them available for the circular economy. Fortunately, this is in the meantime confirmed by the great demand from the chemical industry for products from ELT pyrolysis.

Chinese scientists discovered a groundbreaking method to treat tire rubber waste eliminating the harmful nature of 2-(methylthio)-bezothiazole (MTBT) – a toxic chemical-component of tires threatening human health that is being released when rubber meets the surfaces. What’s more, the scholars went beyond that and found a way how to benefit from the element – they created an organic semiconductor based on it.

ZARE (Zertifizierte Altreifen Entsorger) – a German end-of-life tire collection and recycling organization – has reported that despite ongoing efforts to promote recycling, incidents of illegal waste tire disposal are not decreasing. ZARE emphasizes the need to shed light on this persistent issue and raise awareness among politicians about its scale. This approach is seen as crucial in order to bring about legal changes that would lead to tighter regulations and increased monitoring of end-of-life tire exports.

Over 2 million used tires will be taken from the Riverton City disposal site in St Andrew, Jamaica, as part of a 10-year project that will eventually be expanded to other refuse disposal sites on the island.