Scrap Tires
The Recovery of Carbon Black and Fuel Oil
Ray Riek
COO, Delta Energy, LLC
rriek@delta-energy.biz
Scrap Tire Availability - USA
ref: 7/04 Rubber Manufacturers Association Report
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290 million scrap tires generated in 2003
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In “storage”
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Texas:
New York
Colorado:
Michigan:
Ohio:
Alabama:
Connecticut
53 million
40 million
35 million
25 million
25 million
20 million
20 million
abatement stalled
abatement starting
no abatement
abatement starting
abatement in progress
abatement starting
no abatement
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Total in USA:
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Unused scrap tires: 57 million per year (570 thousand tons)
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Underutilized: Fuel & Civil Engineering uses - 186 million per year (1860
thousand tons)
275 million scrap tires (grossly underestimated)
Scrap Tire Utilization
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One scrap tire is generated per year per person in the USA
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Current market for scrap tires in a shredded form (tire chips)
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Similar expectation in all developed countries
Approx. 80% of scrap tires generated annually are recovered
Remainder is land-filled or dumped
Fuel (cement kilns, stationary power plants) – Btu value similar to coal
Raw material for crumb rubber for finished products such as doormats
Embankments, playground cover
More shred is currently produced than is consumed
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Shred is therefore provided at a very low price
• Frequently given away because of the lack of market
Recovery of Raw Materials
• Many failed attempts over second-half 20th century
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Incomplete process and product development
Low commercial development experience
Inability to develop customers before plant investment
Poor funding
• Several efforts underway (driven by spike in fuel oil price)
• No historical success in bringing the recovered carbon black
to market
Active Recovery Efforts
Long list of failures and shuttered facilities
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Titan Technologies, Inc. - founded in 1990; Albuquerque, New
Mexico
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Three plants in Asia are not believed to be operational due to poor
economic conditions & competition for tires as a fuel source
Titan claims to have six plants in planning or construction; four along the
US-Mexico border, one in Texas, and one in Columbus Ohio.
• Status of these ventures is largely unknown and unverifiable
Earthfirst Technologies, Inc. – founded in 1997; Mobile, Alabama
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Public Company: currently reports inability to sell the carbon black
material recovered from their process
Licenses technology – no known sales
Active Recovery Efforts
Continued
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Carbon Recovery Corp., recently founded; West Berlin, New
Jersey
• Microwave technology
• Batch Process
• Looking for funding
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KOUEI Industries, recently founded; Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Batch process
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Delta-Energy, LLC, founded 2000; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Demonstration facility
• Patented technology
• Qualified customers for recovered carbon black and oil
• Only known company to qualify carbon black for sale
• Looking for funding
Technology Employed
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Titan, EarthFirst, and Delta-Energy all employ a continuous reactor
operating between 800-1100 degrees F.
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Most operators historically have been content to recover the oil and gas
from pyrolysis of tires
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Batch processing leads to prohibitive capital requirements and product
variability
Catalyst use lowers operating temperatures and improves efficiency
Borderline economics that have led to many bankrupted operations
Newest entrants are developing technology that enables the direct
recycle of recovered carbon black
• Low manufacturing cost enables competition with products produced
from oil
A Continuous Operating Facility
Courtesy: Delta-Energy, LLC
Delta-Energy Demonstration Plant
Products From A Shredded Tire
Courtesy: Delta-Energy, LLC
Pounds
D-E Black™ (Reinforcing material used in rubber products)
6.8
De-polymerized oil (1.1 gallon of oil generated per scrap tire)
8.5
Off-gas
1.4
Scrap (Balance after steel de-beading and shredding processes)
0.3
Total shredded tire
17
Summary
• Technology has advanced sufficiently to enable economic
recovery of commercially useful materials from scrap tires
• Several developers are in the process of funding first
commercial operations and looking for viable investors
and operators
• First commercial plants supplying products are expected
to be in operation in 2006
• Delta-Energy, LLC