Method of reclaiming carbonaceous materials from scrap tires and products derived therefrom
The invention relates to recycled rubber produced by a process comprising the steps of: a) shredding cleaned rubber tires into shreds less than 2″ long; b) pyrolyzing the shreds in a reaction chamber of a thermal processor in a first anaerobic environment to produce a char; c) drawing off volatile organics from the reaction chamber; c) removing the char from the reaction chamber; d) cooling the char in a second anaerobic environment; e) removing metal and textile components from the char to obtain pyrolytic carbon black; f) milling and sizing the pyrolytic carbon black so obtained into particles of 325 mesh size or smaller; and, g) utilizing the pyrolytic carbon black from the previous step in a polymerization process that produces said recycled rubber. It also relates to the high quality pyrolytic carbon black recovered from this process.
1. A method of reclaiming carbonaceous materials from scrap tires comprising:
a) shredding rubber tires into shreds less than 2″ long;
b) pyrolyzing the shreds in a reaction chamber of a thermal processor in a first anaerobic environment to produce a char;
c) drawing off volatile organics from the reaction chamber;
d) removing the char from the reaction chamber;
e) cooling the removed char of step d) in a second anaerobic environment;
f) removing metal and textile components from the char to obtain pyrolytic carbon black;
g) milling and sizing the pyrolytic carbon black so obtained into particles of 325 mesh size or smaller; and,
h) utilizing the pyrolytic carbon black from the previous step in a polymerization process that produces recycled rubber;
wherein the process is continuous.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature within the reaction chamber is between 450-550° C.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the temperature within the reaction chamber is 500° C.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after step g), and before step h), the step of pelletizing the pyrolytic carbon black into pellets of 60 to 100 mesh size.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the shreds are less than 1.5″ long.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to step b), lubricating and cleaning the shreds.
7. A process for producing recycled rubber comprising the steps of:
a) shredding cleaned rubber tires into shreds less than 2″ long;
b) pyrolyzing the shreds in a reaction chamber of a thermal processor in a first anaerobic environment to produce a char; wherein the temperature within the reaction chamber is between 450-550° C.
c) drawing off volatile organics from the reaction chamber;
d) removing the char from the reaction chamber;
e) cooling the removed char of step d) in a second anaerobic environment;
f) removing metal and textile components from the char to obtain pyrolytic carbon black;
g) milling and sizing the pyrolytic carbon black so obtained into particles of 325 mesh size or smaller; and,
h) utilizing the pyrolytic carbon black from the previous step in a polymerization process that produces recycled rubber;
wherein the process is continuous.
8. A process according to claim 7 , wherein the temperature within the reaction chamber is between 450-500° C.
9. A process according to claim 8 , wherein the temperature within the reaction chamber is 500° C.
10. A process according to claim 7 , wherein the process further comprises, after step g), and before step h), the step of pelletizing the pyrolytic carbon black into pellets of 60 to 100 mesh size.
11. A process according to claim 7 , wherein the shreds are less than 1.5″ long.
12. A process according to claim 7 , wherein the process further comprises, prior to step b), lubricating and further cleaning the shreds.