The backers of these projects insist they have solved the technological and economic problems that hobbled high-tech tire recycling in the past. Only about 75 million scrap tires languish in piles today, down from close to 1 billion in , according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association RMA. Still, old tires continue to be generated in prodigious volumes. In the U. And one notorious tire pile, outside Denver, still holds close to 30 million tires.
Vulcanization imparts needed mechanical properties but is not easily reversed. More than half of them were burned for their energy content in electric utility boilers, paper mills, and cement kilns. About a quarter were ground into so-called crumb rubber, which is added to asphalt or used in playgrounds and sports surfaces.
Sam Visaisouk, chief executive officer of Tyromer , a Canadian developer of devulcanization technology, notes that the market for the mesh crumb-sized rubber used in playgrounds is already oversupplied. And backers of alternative technologies claim that some countries are looking to outlaw tire-derived fuel on environmental grounds.
At present, the most advanced commercial-scale tire recycling in the U. The Tucker, Ga. Barton expects JSR to help Lehigh make inroads in Europe and Asia and eventually set up manufacturing in those regions. Vulcanization is a thermosetting process that renders rubber unable to be remelted and reused at high concentrations.
Many breakthroughs have been proclaimed over the years in the pursuit of devulcanization. A page report commissioned in by the state of California found companies and institutions offering roughly 25 mechanical, chemical, ultrasonic, microwave, and biological techniques for devulcanizing rubber.
But the report also found reliable information hard to come by and no plants operating at commercial scale. His eventual goal is to sell similar systems to crumb rubber producers looking to market a higher-value product.
Another Canadian firm, Phoenix Innovation Technology , opened an 8 million-lb-per-year plant in a Montreal suburb last fall to manufacture a devulcanized product it calls regenerated rubber. Phoenix accomplishes this, according to Murphy, by carefully controlling temperature and shear force in its regenerator via infrared temperature sensors and a customized cooling system. The resulting rubber can be used in tire applications such as tractor and mining vehicle tires and in nontire applications such as conveyor belts, he says.
Tires contain a mixture of natural, styrene-butadiene, butyl, and polybutadiene rubbers plus carbon black, antioxidants, stearates, and other materials.
Delta-Energy is a spin-off of the RJ Lee Group, a materials characterization and industrial forensics firm that employs more than scientists. Scientists there developed a catalytic pyrolysis technique that decomposes shredded tires into carbon solids and a hydrocarbon liquid that petrochemical companies can use as a raw material.
Delta-Energy started producing carbon-black-like products in at a small facility in North Dakota. The equipment was recently relocated to Mississippi, where it will complement the larger facility planned for the site.
A German tire-recycling company, Pyrolyx , wants to get even closer to supplies. In February, it announced plans to build a tire pyrolysis facility in Hudson, Colo. Based in Munich, Pyrolyx has developed a process for continuous recovery of carbon black from shredded tires. It is in the midst of merging with another German firm, Carbon Clean Tech CCT , which has operated a 10 million-lb-per-year recovered carbon black facility in Stegelitz, Germany, since Unlike Pyrolyx, CCT uses a batch process.
Nowadays, there many options of uses for recycled tires , starting with rubberized asphalt and barrier covers, and finishing with swings for kids, planters, and tools for sport fields. Besides, the usage of recycled rubber makes times smaller carbon footprints than the usage of virgin plastic resins. Our used tires go through rigorous quality control check to make sure you get top of the line tires. Used Tires Utires. My Cart: 0. Shopping Cart You have no items in your shopping cart.
Log In Sign up Cart. We usually don't pay much attention to tires, though, unless they're not performing , such as when they go flat or they slide around due to lack of traction.
There's one group of people, though, that does think about tires: environmentalists. All tires wear out. In the United States, we wear out and dispose of about million tires every year. Where do all those old tires go? In the past, old tires usually went to the local landfill or were burnt. Environmentalists will tell you that neither of these solutions was good for the environment. Burning old rubber tires releases dangerous toxins and pollutes the air.
Since old tires don't biodegrade , throwing them away in a landfill simply means they'll keep stacking up over time, taking up tremendous amounts of space. They also become havens for rats and mosquitoes to breed. Years ago, some landfills became so-called "tire mountains" due to the sheer number of old tires that had been discarded in them. Before states began to pass scrap tire laws in the s, there were approximately billion tires stockpiled in landfills.
In fact, old tires have gone from an environmental nuisance to a recycling success story over the last 25 years. When you buy a new set of tires today, the dealer will usually recycle your old tires for you. Of course, some people might use their old tires for a new purpose, such as turning them into a tire swing or garden planters.
Alternatively, you can check with your local community recycling center for details on how and where to drop off old tires to be recycled. When old tires get recycled, they're shipped to a commercial reprocessing plant to be treated with chemicals that break them down into material that can be reused. That material is then ground up into tiny pieces.
The EPA estimates there are currently more than different products made out of material that comes from recycled tires. For example, recycled tire material is used to make rubberized asphalt, which in turn is used to resurface many roads.
Recycled tire material also finds its way into all sorts of other products, including: rubber-encased railroad ties, rubber composite decks, sports courts, running tracks, playground surfaces, public walkways, garden mulch, construction backfill, erosion control barriers, and molded automobile parts, such as engine belts and floor mats. In some areas, old tires are burnt as an alternative fuel source to generate power. Are you tired yet? We hope not! Don't forget to check out the following activities with a friend or family member:.
We agree!! Have you ever been to a playground that used recycled tires for the playground surface? Thanks for sharing, Bob! It is definitely not safe to drive with old, worn out tires, and it's best to recycle these old tires!
Hi, Brady! We try to recycle and reuse tires whenever possible because tires do not biodegrade. Hey I like what you said and you can look at the emojis to find out the answer is and I want you to find what I said about things I don't understand! My name is Josey. We're so glad that you liked Wonder Who Invented Emojis?
Have you seen our other Wonders about science? We are thrilled that you are learning so much from the Wonders. Hi, Niko! Thanks for sharing! Some of the old tires may be destroyed, but thankfully, many tires are now recycled, too! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website?
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