Thermal pyrolysis should not be direction for waste tire recycling, expert

Thermal pyrolysis is not a good way to process waste tires and it should not be the direction of recycling waste tires, said Cao Qingxin from China Rubber Industry Association.

“The Chinese government had promoted the development of thermal pyrolysis for quite a few years. However, enterprises investing in the project have found it unprofitable at all except some equipment manufacturers,” said Cao, an adviser of the Waste Rubber Utilization Branch of China Rubber Industry Association.

More importantly, thermal pyrolysis of tires generates the so-called “carbon black” that contains only 35 percent of pure carbon black, which cannot obtain market endorsement, Cao said.

Carbon black, as a major reinforced material used in the rubber industry, applies to very strict national standards. “The material generated by thermal pyrolysis only looks like carbon black, with very low commercial value,” Cao said.

Meanwhile, as it comes out in the form of powder, it can be very harmful to the environment if not processed timely and correctly, Cao emphasized.

Currently, projects of thermal pyrolysis with waste tires do not enjoy a 50-percent discount in VAT anymore.