Tyres to Bio Diesel.

After many years of research and development of this new Thermolysis process, True Alternative Energy is convinced that this approach is the most efficient and cost-effective way to treat waste rubber tyres and plastics such as PE and PP. The design is based on the old Pyrolysis process that has been refined and improved upon to create the Becker system. The name Pyro has been changed to Thermo as there is no fire or combustion used with in the Becker system. This was made possible due to a totally new designed sealing system. Secondly the reactor is stationary preventing dust carry over to the diesel oil or from emanating from the plant into the atmosphere.

The totally sealed, PLC controlled continuous process is energy self-sufficient once operating 8 hours after starting up, the syngas produced during the process is utilised as fuel for the thermal cycle. This is after the gas is rigorously scrubbed to remove any detrimental gases such as hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans. 

The tyres are processed to ensure ease of feeding firstly by the removal of any metal and then cutting into 5-30mm rubber chips, this ensures the ease of feeding and ensures optimum yield of commodities are achieved.

  • The yield process is:
  • Bio Diesel 55%. – 8680 litres based on 15 Tons
  • Char 40% – 6,000 kg / day
  • Syngas 5% – 750 kg / day = 31.2 kg / hr

Phase 1, Down Sizing

Our processing system has been designed to accomodate the worlds largest tyres such as those used in the “Super Pit” that weigh up to 5 tonnes each. The steel cable bead (The two beads have a mass of about 1000kg) of the OTR’s is removed first and then cut into smaller pieces ready for the next operation. The steel cable is cleaned during the process and the steel can be sold as high-quality scrap steel.

Phase 2, Shredding

The second stage is to shred the cuts from the first operation into smaller pieces followed by a Rasper process to remove the steel on the running surface of the tyre. Classification is done to ensure that the size of the feed stock is to the correct size.

Phase 3, Thermolysis Process

The unit is fed at a rate of 1.0m/sec ensuring an even flow. Compare this figure with a figure of 5m/sec used in conventional oil refineries. During the heating cycle the reactor expands by 65mm. Provision is made to accommodate this large expansion. The feed end is kept stationary whilst the discharge end is allowed to move by means of a trolley. This means that all connections to the outlets such as the syngas, and vapor condenser lines and the solids extraction unit are provided with compensators to cater for the expansion. Cooling of the last two units is by means of a closed circuit water cooling system

The cooled syngas and oil is then separated in a demister column. The syngas is the scrubbed andwashed dried before it goes to the gas compressor. The compressor will increase the pressure from0.2bar to 1 bar. This is necessary for two reasons. Firstly the burners require a minimum feed pressure of 0.5 bar. Secondly the compressor assists with an even flow of the gas and to regulate the pressure inside the reactor at any altitude. The syngas will be used for heating the plant and the surplus can be used for other heating applications.

The heating of the kiln will be done by two burners starting on diesel for a couple of hours and then switched over to the syngas. All this will be controlled by a tough screen PLC control unit. This unit will also control the function of the whole plant. If required it can also be connected to the internet for control purposes. However that is not recommended as hackers can cause havoc with the system.