Tyre Recycling with Thermal Solvolysis Method Using Microwave Radiation

Abstract

Used tyres are one of the most widespread types of waste and one of the polymer materials which are most difficult to recycle. There are many different applications for used tyres today. Part of the tyres can be retreated and re-used, but most of the used tyres are recycled.

By dissolving the tyres, it is possible to filter out various chemical substances. These substances coming from the used tyres can be used for creating a new material or improving an existing one. One of the technologies involves adding chemically recycled tyres to the bitumen used in road pavement construction. The substances obtained from the recycled tyres can be used in the water proofing of bitumen. Methods of pyrolysis and solvolysis are used for recycling tyres into raw materials.

In this research tyre recycling with thermal solvolysis is studied by using a conventional oven and microwave oven in order to obtain waterproofing materials with improved exploitation properties. Promising results are obtained in the pre-studies on the tyre recycling in the microwave allowing to reduce energy consumption before thermal processing of tyres as well as during the thermal processing process compared with methods involving heating in traditional furnace.

Dissolving time of the recycled tyre pieces depending on the size of the pieces as well as energy consumption depending on furnace type, operating temperature and time have been assessed during the experimental part.

Adhesive properties of the rubber-bitumen composite obtained during the experiments were tested. After testing the adhesive properties on the concrete surfaces it can be concluded that rubber-asphalt composite obtained in a microwave oven has the best adhesion because no waterproofing peeling has been found.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.18.1.16622