What happens to end-of-life tyres? Today we know that they can be 100% recycled. That is, they can be recovered. Ecopneus’ research has given rise to the First Catalogue of ELT products.
Tyre recycling and recovery: a practice that is not yet frequent
After 10 years from their manufacture, car tires should be replaced: a rule that certainly makes us think, given that in 2016 alone there were almost 40,000,000 cars on the road!
However, not all tyres are recycled and this unfortunately causes environmental “costs” and important repercussions for the planet.
Three methods for recycling tires
When a tyre exhausts its function and is named ELTs, it enters a virtuous circle that “transforms it into something else”: giving new life to tyres is possible through three methods that give them new life. Here they are:
- Mechanical shredding
- Cryogenic processes
- Electrothermal Processes
Mechanical shredding concerns the removal of the bead (i.e. the metal rings), and shredding, also called granulation (i.e. the separation of rubber parts from steel and fabric parts). Once these 2 procedures have been completed, we move on to micronization, i.e. cleaning the granules and reducing the volume of larger components.
When it comes to cryogenic processes to recycle tires, a step following mechanical shredding, liquid nitrogen is used to cool the material, which takes on a crystalline structure that can be easily ground and then pulverized.
The disposal of end-of-life tyres also takes place through electrothermal processes, i.e. after mechanical shredding, the pieces are introduced into vertical magnetic induction ovens. The process allows the rubber to dry out and peel off the metal part. During devulcanization, the rubber is returned to its original state.
The purpose of these treatments is to recover the gum, which is brought back to life. Thanks to these processes, it is possible to recover 40 to 60% of old tyres! The remaining percentage is used for energy recovery.
Ecopneus’ research for new recycled rubber objects
These recycling methods have made it possible for Ecopneus, of which Valli Gestioni Ambientali has been a partner since 2013, to recover about 734,253 tons of used tyres, starting from 2011.
The activities of companies such as Ecopneus, dedicated to the recycling and recovery of ELTs, bring great advantages to the environment in terms of saving CO2 and other sources of air pollution, also safeguarding water and preserving natural fossil and mineral resources.
Finally, from recycled rubber it is possible to give life to new objects, but also to new tires!
In the First Catalogue of ELT products, born from the collaboration of Matrec and Ecopneus, the tyre is part of the circular materials: which can be reused by companies, but which can become, in the future, inspiration for the conception and creation of new works of art and architecture.
Valli Ambiente has been committed to the recovery of end-of-life tyres for years. Request more information
