| abstract |
A process for economically recovering carbon black, oil and fuel gas from vehicle tires is disclosed, for either whole tires or physically fragmented tires. The tires are washed to remove dirt and road film. The clean tires are dried and preheated with super-heat steam. The hot tires are pyrolyzed to partially devolatize a major portion of the hydrocarbons and produce a char that can be separated from the steel and fiber glass. The char is subsequently pyrolyzed with microwaves that elevate the tire temperature and devolatize the remaining hydrocarbons from the char as gas. The hot gases are cooled and partially condensed. The uncondensed gas is used as fuel. The condensed oil is sent to storage. The solid residue from the tire pyrolysis is char, fiberglass and steel. The char is mechanically separated from the glass and steel. The char is milled to break down agglomerates and subsequently pelletized and bagged. The steel and glass are discarded as trash. |