Carbon Distribution from the Pyrolysis of Tire-Derived Fuels

Comparison of the Effect of Kaolin and Bentonite Clay (Raw, Acid-Treated, and Metal-Impregnated) on the Pyrolysis of Waste Tire

This study investigates the effectiveness of kaolin and bentonite catalysts in improving liquid hydrocarbon yields during the pyrolysis of waste tires. Raw clay, nitric acid-treated clay, and mono- or bimetal-impregnated clay were used as catalysts in the pyrolysis of waste tire. Acid-treated kaolin produced a higher yield of liquid hydrocarbons (43.24-47%) compared to acid-treated bentonite (35.34-41.85%). This improvement in the liquid yield can be attributed to the higher specific surface area and pore diameter of the acid-treated clay in comparison to raw kaolin (39.48%) and raw bentonite (31.62%). Moreover, the use of metal-impregnated catalysts, such as Fe/kaolin and Ni/Fe/kaolin, resulted in higher liquid yields (47%) compared to the 3 M HNO3-treated kaolin catalyst (43.24%). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis confirmed the presence of limonene, a crucial ingredient for commercial perfume production, in the liquid products. The calorific values of oil obtained through kaolin and bentonite catalysis were measured at 13,922 and 10,174 kcal/kg, respectively, further highlighting the potential of these catalysts in waste tire valorization.

The effect of the secondary reactions on volatile composition during the pyrolysis treatment of scrap tires

The phenomenon of the secondary reactions of volatiles prevails during the pyrolysis process of scrap tires, but less is known about the influence of volatiles' residence time and temperature on the pyrolytic oil compositions. Experiments on the secondary reactions caused by residence time and temperature of volatiles were carried out on a lab-scale fixed bed reactor. The regularity of the secondary reactions was presented in detail according to the distribution of liquid and gaseous pyrolytic products. Considering the inadequacy of lab-to-industry research, experiments were further carried out on a pilot-scale auger reactor. The results of the pilot-scale system were corresponding well to the regularity obtained in lab-scale experiment, demonstrating the universality of the regularity in this work. At in situ pyrolysis condition without any secondary reactions, limonene content reached up to 46.24% while a high yield of BTEX (50.55%) was obtained at 700℃/60 s. A remarkable increase of methane and ethane was observed at 700℃/60 s, reaching 0.058 and 0.040 g·(g scrap tire)^-1, respectively. This paper provided a novel strategy to selectively produce target products in a simple and economical method. The results were of great significance for guiding the optimisation of pyrolysis parameters in industrial equipment to obtain desired valuable products.

Pyrolytic preparation and modification of carbon black recovered from waste tyres

The medium temperature pyrolysis process using a fixed-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure was utilised to recover carbon black from motorcycle and automobile tyres. Experimental results have shown that the ash and volatile contents of several recovered carbon blacks are high, the elongation at break of the vulcanised natural rubber filled with recovered carbon blacks from motorcycle tyres is better than that from motorcycle tyres and standard carbon black 7#, while the other mechanical properties are worse. In order to improve the reinforcing effect of recovered carbon blacks, the modification of recovered carbon black was performed by high-energy electron bombardment and non-oxidising acid. The specific surface area of the pyrolytic carbon blacks increased after high-energy electron bombardment. The ash content of the pyrolytic carbon black was reduced from 22.5% to 8.4% after rinsing with hydrochloric acid, and the tensile stress at 300% was increased by about 2.2 MPa.

Experimental investigations on a diesel engine operated with fuel blends derived from a mixture of Pakistani waste tyre oil and waste soybean oil biodiesel

The waste tyre and waste cooking oils have a great potential to be used as alternative fuels for diesel engines. The aim of this study was to convert light fractions of pyrolysis oil derived from Pakistani waste vehicle tyres and waste soybean oil methyl esters into valuable fuel and to reduce waste disposal-associated environmental problems. In this study, the waste tyre pyrolysis liquid (light fraction) was collected from commercial tyre pyrolysis plant and biodiesel was prepared from waste soybean oil. The fuel blends (FMWO10, FMWO20, FMWO30, FMWO40 and FMWO50) were prepared from a 30:70 mixture of waste tyre pyrolysis liquid and waste soybean oil methyl esters with different proportions of mineral diesel. The mixture was named as the fuel mixture of waste oils (FMWO). FT-IR analysis of the fuel mixture was carried out using ALPHA FT-IR spectrometer. Experimental investigations on a diesel engine were carried out with various FMWO blends. It was observed that the engine fuel consumption was marginally increased and brake thermal efficiency was marginally decreased with FMWO fuel blends. FMWO10 has shown lowest NOx emissions among all the fuel blends tested. In addition, HC, CO and smoke emissions were noticeably decreased by 3.1-15.6%, 16.5-33.2%, and 1.8-4.5%, respectively, in comparison to diesel fuel, thereby qualifying the blends to be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines.

Pirólise de resíduos de borrachas do setor de mineração para a produção de combustíveis: estudos em escala piloto

Resumo Neste trabalho, estudou-se em escala piloto a pirólise de três diferentes rejeitos de borracha do setor de mineração, i.e. peças de moinho de composição nominal de borracha estireno e butadieno (SBR), peneiras e correias transportadoras com composição nominal à base de borracha natural e butadieno (NR/BR) e pneus offroad de composição complexa (mistura de borracha natural, nitrílica, butadieno e estireno-butadieno) em temperaturas de 450, 600 e 800°C. As reações realizadas a 450°C mostraram uma pirólise incompleta, sendo que a 600 e 800°C os rejeitos de borracha se convertem totalmente em três produtos: 15-25% de gás, 42-44% sólido e 34-45% de líquido. Análises por cromatografia gasosa (CG) dos produtos gasosos mostraram majoritariamente a presença de hidrocarbonetos C1-C4 com valores de poder calorífico inferior (PCI) iguais a 8.496 e 7.325 kcal kg-1, similares ao gás liquefeito de petróleo (GLP). Análise dos sólidos obtidos por análise elementar de carbono, hidrogênio e nitrogênio (CHN), espectrômetria de emissão atômica com plasma induzido (ICP-AES) Spectro Ciros CCD para a determinação de enxofre, análise térmica gravimétrica e diferencial (TG/DTA), carbono fixo, cinzas, voláteis mostraram a presença de 72-89% de carbono com 2% de enxofre. Análises dos produtos líquidos por cromatografia gasosa acoplado a espectrometria de massas (CG-EM) indicaram a presença de misturas complexas de hidrocarbonetos majoritariamente até C20. As amostras NR/BR e pneu produzem líquidos com concentração de compostos aromáticos próxima a 50%, enquanto a amostra SBR resulta na formação de um líquido de concentração próxima a 87%. A mistura dessa fração líquida obtida pela pirólise (sem qualquer purificação) com um diesel comercial nas proporções de 0,5, 1 e 3 vol% mostrou que nenhum parâmetro de qualidade de combustível definido pela ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis) foi alterado significativamente.

Uncontrolled combustion of shredded tires in a landfill - Part 1: Characterization of gaseous and particulate emissions

In summer 2012, a landfill liner comprising an estimated 1.3 million shredded tires burned in Iowa City, Iowa. During the fire, continuous monitoring and laboratory measurements were used to characterize the gaseous and particulate emissions and to provide new insights into the qualitative nature of the smoke and the quantity of pollutants emitted. Significant enrichments in ambient concentrations of CO, CO₂, SO₂, particle number (PN), fine particulate (PM_2.5) mass, elemental carbon (EC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were observed. For the first time, PM_2.5 from tire combustion was shown to contain PAH with nitrogen heteroatoms (a.k.a. azaarenes) and picene, a compound previously suggested to be unique to coal-burning. Despite prior laboratory studies' findings, metals used in manufacturing tires (i.e. Zn, Pb, Fe) were not detected in coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀) at a distance of 4.2 km downwind. Ambient measurements were used to derive the first in situ fuel-based emission factors (EF) for the uncontrolled open burning of tires, revealing substantial emissions of SO₂ (7.1 g kg^-1), particle number (3.5×10¹⁶ kg^-1), PM_2.5 (5.3 g kg^-1), EC (2.37 g kg^-1), and 19 individual PAH (totaling 56 mg kg^-1). A large degree of variability was observed in day-to-day EF, reflecting a range of flaming and smoldering conditions of the large-scale fire, for which the modified combustion efficiency ranged from 0.85-0.98. Recommendations for future research on this under-characterized source are also provided.

Reduction of carbon content in waste-tire combustion ashes by bio-thermal treatment

Application of bio-catalyst (NOE-7F) in thermal treatment can adequately dispose dark-black fly ashes from co-combustion of both waste tires and coal. After thermal treatment of fly ashes by adding 10% NOE-7F, the carbon contents reduced by 37.6% and the weight losses increased by 405%, compared with the fly ashes without mixing with NOE-7F. The combustion behaviors of wasted tires combustion fly ashes with NOE-7F were also investigated by both thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results verify that NOE-7F has positive effects on the combustion of residual carbon and toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) enhance the energy release and reduce the toxicity during the process of thermal treatment. Furthermore, using NOE-7F to dispose high-carbon content fly ashes did improve the compressive strength of fly ashes and concrete mixtures. Therefore, NOE-7F is a promising additive which could decrease treatment cost of high-carbon content fly ashes and reduce the amount of survival toxic PAHs.