Tyre Recycling in the European Union

Dr. Valerie L. Shulman Secretary General, ETRA

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ETRA : The European Tyre Recycling Association

Founded in 1994, with 19 members in 5 EU States

ETRA has 250 members in 43 countries, including each EU State;

The mission : to develop tyre recycling as an environmentally and commercially sustainable European industry Objectives: to develop and advance policies that support the industry;
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to expand and develop markets; to development and implement professional standards; to prepare and promote guidelines for materials, products, applications; to provide communication links Membership is open to the public and private sectors
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Post-consumer tyres
~ 3,250,000 tonnes of post-consumer tyres are permanently removed each year from cars and trucks in the 27 EU States and defined as waste

It is estimated that an additional ~60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of post-consumer tyres are permanently removed each year from agricultural and other off-road vehicles in the 27 EU States but not defined as waste
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Compared with other waste streams

Product
Paper Plastics Packaging Glass Aluminium Automotive/construction Packaging Rubber Tyres
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Consumption
79,000,000 37,000,000

Sub-set
19,980,000

15,000,000 8,860,000 5,316,000 1,594,800 5,000,000 3,000,000

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The raw materials

Rubber compounds - throughout the tyre : treads, sidewalls, etc. Plies and belts : layers of brass coated steel with rubber
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Bead wire : Cords of high tensile steel that give form to the tyre
Casing : Made of metal, rayon, nylon. Polyester cords

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Composition by weight of tyres

Material Car/utility% Truck/lorry%

Rubber/elastomersa Carbon black or silicab Metal

Textile Zinc oxide Sulphur Additives

48 22 15
5 1 1 8

45 22 25
2 1 5
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A Truck tyres contain proportionately more natural rubber in comparison to synthetic rubber than do car tyres b Different varieties of carbon black are used for different purposes and may appear in other categories of material

The rubber compounds, metals and textiles are recovered through material recycling
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Recycling makes sense

It requires 121,000BTUs to produce 1 kg of new rubber materials It requires only 2,200BTUs to produce 1 kg of clean granulate or powder. Put another way, the Co2 equivalent for 1kg of rubber is : 4,351 for Natural rubber 3,409 for SBR
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0,097 for recycled rubber

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Considering energy use

The production of 1 tonne of rubber requires the following :
Natural rubber requires the same amount of energy as driving from Brussels to Singapore (about 10,560km)

Synthetic rubber (SBR) requires the equivalent of driving from Rome to Sidney Australia (15,000km)

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Recycled rubber is a much shorter trip - it uses the equivalent of a 400 km ride from Paris (France) to Geneva (Switzerland)

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Means of tyre valorisation

Re-use and or export Retreading Material recycling including :
Civil engineering and construction applications Environmental rehabilitation projects Consumer and industrial products Energy recovery for : Co-incineration Cement kilns
Each form of valorisation requires a consistent flow of input
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The attainment level : 2005-6

In 2005-6, 2 669 219 tonnes of post-consumer tyres were treated in an environmentally sound manner within the 25 States of the EU. 222 975 tonnes : export ( 7%) 333 250 tonnes : retreading ( 10,5%) 1 012 920 tonnes : material recycling ( 31,8%) 1 100 075 tonnes : energy recovery (34,5%) Together, 83,8% of post-consumer tyres were diverted from landfills.
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Elements of the recycling process

Collecting (manual) Sorting Pre-treating
Debeading Cutting

Processing (mechanical)
Shredding Granulating Sieving Packaging Storing Delivering

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The start of tyre recycling : Collecting

Knowing where the tyres are
At small individual sites : Garages, tyre shops, small retailers, vehicle sales At large communal depots Tyre distributors Fleet managers Municipal depots Vehicle dismantlers

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Knowing how to move the tyres

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Basic collection information

Category Approx. Wt./ tyre Tyres p/tonne

Off road/agricultural tyres

Truck tyres Bus tyres Utility tyres Passenger car tyres Winter tyres
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170 kg
56 kg 54 kg 8 kg 7 kg 8kg

5.88
17.86 18.52
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125 142.60 125

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EU Collection systems
Sweden

Producer responsibility Free market system Adaptation In transition

Norway

Finland

Estonia Latvia Lithuania Ireland UK Germany Czech Republic France Austria Italy Bulgaria Spain Greece Hungary Romania

Poland

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Malta

Cyprus

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Formula for tyre Collection

To move 1 tonne of tyres costs approximately 2 per km
Passenger car tyres : 6 - 12 tonnes per delivery 15 tonnes in a walking floor truck
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Truck tyres : approximately 14 - 15 tonnes per delivery 17 - 18 tonnes in a walking floor truck
Off-road tyres : 15 tonnes per delivery

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Stacked tyres
Whole tyres are often stacked in a basketweave to save space - particularly when the tyres will be retreaded
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Tyres for recycling are often transported in bulk - as whole, or as tyre cuts

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The next steps

1. Sorting : Manual process According to category : truck, passenger car, other Road-worthy : undamaged with minimum 1.66mm tread
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Retreadable : repairable casing in good condition Non-retreadable : raw material for recycling Many of these tyres are exported to other countries that have less restrictive road-use standards
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Preparation for recycling

2. Pre-treatment : Manual processes
Removal of debris
Rinsing - remove dirt, etc.
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Cutting in halves/quarters
Debeading

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Not all tyres are ready for treatment

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Truck tyre debeading

Truck tyres are debeaded The steel is removed A 60 second spurt at 150 kW/h/t is used Clean tyre bead steel can substitute virgin material dependent upon use
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Tyre processing
Shredding Chipping Granulating Fine granulating Powders Material upgrading
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Environmental impacts : per tonne

Material Debeading Shred, chips Feedstock Truck tyres Dependent upon use : Whole and/or cut car, utility, truck and other tyres Dependent upon product: whole, cuts, shred, chips, treads, sidewalls, technical rubber Energy use 150 kWh/t 60 sec spurt 35-50 kWh/t Emission limits/unit of operation +0,4 mg/m dust +95 dB (A) noise +0,2 mg/m dust +95 dB (A) noise SOx 0 NOx 0 Water - trace 0,2 mg/m dust G; 0,4 mg/m dust P +85 dB (A) noise (newer systems encased) +90 dB (A) noise (encased) some older, dual process systems Sox0 NOx 0 Water below allowable levels +0,2 kg/h dust +85 dB noise (encased system) Sox 0 NOx 0 Water below allowable levels +0,2 mg/m dust +90 dB noise SOx 0 NOx 0 Water below allowable levels Local legal limits for air emissions 30 45 dB Water below allowable levels
3 3 3 3 3

Size reduction Granulate & powder

120 kWh/t

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Fine powder <600 m

Dependent upon product: granulate as produced above Dependent upon product: Shredded/granulated tyres, As produced above Dependent upon product : As above

110-150 KW/t 1.3 tN2/t granulate 150 200 kWh/t

Devulcanisation (non-chemical)

Pyrolysis

370 kWh/t

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Shred and chips

Shredders can be mobile or fixed

Shred can vary in size from

75mm to 300mm in any dimension.

Smaller shred, of <100mm, can

be used loose or compacted, in applications with or without binders be used in applications with or without binders
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Chips, from 15 - 75mm, can

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Granulation plant in operation

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Cost-use-triangle
The Po st-consumer tyre usage hierarchy Capital investment Principal Consumers Examples of use

Whole Cut

<

100,000

100% public sector

artificial reefs, erosion control noise barriers, stabilisation

Shred and chips

< 1,000,000

80% public sector 20% private sector 80% private sector 20% public sector

lightweight fill for construction, roads, insulation, landfill construction

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> 1,000,000 Granulate and powders

consumer/industrial applications, products, sports surfaces, some public civil engineering applications

Multi-treatment materials

<10,000,000

95% private sector 5% public sector

consumer/industrial products, coatings, some road construction

Preliminary specifications of many of these applications and products are provided in the CEN Workshop Agreement on Post-consumer tyres.

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The range of materials : outputs

Since 1995, the range of post-consumer tyre materials produced and used has expanded - principally at the extremes Larger materials, i.e., whole treated and untreated tyres, bales, shred, chips are increasingly selected by civil engineers
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Smaller materials, i.e., granulate, powders, fine powders and specialised products (reclaim, devulcanisates, thermoplastic elastomers, etc.) are being selected by manufacturers of consumer and technical products Recycling residues are increasingly used for specific innovative applications

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Post-consumer tyre materials

The changing balance of material production and use
Granulate 54%
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Powders 10% Whole tyres 12% Shred/chips 15%

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Misc. 2%

Specialty 7%

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Whole tyres Whole tyres can be recycled

without physical or chemical transformation include cutting into halves or quarters,

Principal methods of treatment

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untreated or, treated by

removing the beads or sidewalls, or by compression

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Characteristics of whole tyres

Characteristics
Lightweight,
Low compacted density, High void ratio, Good compressibility, Water permeability, Thermal insulation Non-biodegradable
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Examples of whole tyre uses

Slope stabilisation Construction bale

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Erosion control

Coastal and fluvial protection

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Shred and Chips

Shred and chips are the result of
300mm in any dimension. mechanical processes by which tyres are fragmented into irregular pieces

Shred can vary in size from 75mm to

Smaller shred, of <100mm, can be

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used loose or compacted, in applications with or without binders in applications with or without binders

Chips, from 15 - 75mm, can be used

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Characteristics of shred and chips

Characteristics
Lightweight,
Low compacted density, High void ratio, Good compressibility, Water permeability 10-1 to 10-3 m/s
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Thermal insulation
Low earth pressure
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Examples of shred and chips

Compacted shred

Landfill cell
(geotextile) Drainage systems
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Loose unbound chips : Compacted unbound chips Bound chips

Loose shred

Building insulation
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Granulate
Granulate is the result of
processing rubber to reduce it in size into finely dispersed particles from 1mm to 10mm
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There are two principal methods of

production : ambient and cryogenic

Ambient size reduction is the most

common, particularly for larger truck tyres.

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Characteristics of granulate
Characteristics
Variations are based upon the treatment technology Ambient : irregular shape; some thermal degradation due to treatment; reduced cross-linking Cryogenic : regular shape and particle size; smooth, glossy surface; no surface decomposition or thermal stress

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Examples of granulate uses

Artificial turf Road furniture Road furniture

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Running tracks
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Artificial turf Insulation

Indoor or outdoor tiles/pavers

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Sports arenas Sports stadia

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Childrens play grounds

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Powders and fine powders

Fine
granulate is the result of ambient or cryogenic processing to obtain finely dispersed particles of less than 2mm.
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Powders and fine powders

are the result of processing and post-treating the material to obtain finely dispersed particles of 500m - <1.mm
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Characteristics of powders
Characteristics
Powders are processed to modify one or more characteristic to restore some properties of virgin rubber. Powders include reclaim, surface modified or reactivated material, elastomeric alloys, among others. They are most often used as ingredients in compounds that are mixed or blended with virgin material
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Well continue to work on it

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Thank you for your attention

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The 15th Annual European Conference

on tyre recycling

Towards a Recycling society :

the challenge
2 - 5 April 2008

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The Crowne Plaza Europa, Brussels

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