This review deals with the state-of-the-art of waste tyre pyrolysis for the first time in literature. Pyrolysis has been addressed as an attractive thermochemical process to tackle the waste tyre disposal problem while allowing energy recovery. Pyrolysis enables the separation of carbon black from tyres and the volatile matter released (condensable and non-condensable compounds) has the potential of renewable energy recovery given the significant proportion of natural rubber present in the tyre. Given this waste-to-energy pathway, a comprehensive review has been carried out in order to show the effects of the main process conditions (heating rate, temperature, pressure, carrier gas flow rate and type, volatiles residence time and pyrolysis time) on the physicochemical properties and distributions of the resulting products (gas, liquid and solid fractions). It has also been reviewed the influence of the size and composition of the feedstock. All reported results have been framed regarding the type of reactor as well as the experimental conditions used to avoid contradictions among the large number of publications on the subject. It is shown that the occurrence of secondary reactions is very sensitive to the interaction of the aforementioned variables. Also, the main properties of the pyrolytic products are pointed out. The liquid and gaseous fractions obtained are a valuable fuel source; while the solid fraction (char) has the recovery potential of low- grade carbon black or as carbon adsorbent after applying an activation step. Special attention has been given to the liquid fraction, highlighting its properties as alternative fuel in compression ignition engines.

Waste tyre pyrolysis – A review

Pyrolysis of waste tyres: a review.

Liquefaction of waste tires by pyrolysis for oil and chemicals—A review

Use of pyrolytic gas from waste tire as a fuel: A review

Continuous pyrolysis of waste tyres in a conical spouted bed reactor

The pilot-scale pyrolysis of scrap tires in a continuous rotary kiln reactor was investigated at temperatures between 450 and 650 °C. As the reactor temperature increased, the char yield remained constant with a mean of 39.8 wt %. The oil yield reached a maximum value of 45.1 wt % at 500 °C. The pyrolytic derived oils can be used as liquid fuels because of their high heating value (40−42 MJ/kg), excellent viscosity (1.6−3.7 cS), and reasonable sulfur content (0.97−1.54 wt %). The true-boiling-point distillation test showed that there was a 39.2−42.3 wt % light naphtha fraction in the pyrolytic oil. The volatile aromatics were quantified in the naphtha fraction using gas chromatography−mass spectrometry. The maximum concentrations of benzene, toluene, xylene, styrene, and limonene in the oil were 2.09 wt %, 7.24 wt %, 2.13 wt %, and 5.44 wt %, respectively. The abundant presence of aromatic groups was also confirmed by functional group Fourier transform infrared analysis. The concentration of polycyclic ar...

Y. Chi

Papers

Pilot-Scale Pyrolysis of Scrap Tires in a Continuous Rotary Kiln Reactor