Australian tyre recycler Green Distillation Technologies, which says it has developed a world-first process that turns end-of-life tyres (ELTs) into high value oil, carbon and steel, believes the time is right for it to expand into the European market, despite the pandemic.
GDT COO Trevor Bayley said that the recent statement by Faziler Cinaraip at the webinar organised by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) who said that only 42% of the 12 million tonnes of ELTs generated in Europe each year are recycled, had heightened the interest.
”In addition there is the waning interest in crumbing tyres for sporting field infill, as well as a potential ban on this use and the fact that we offer a much better and environmentally sympathetic tyre recycling alternative.”
He adds that the company is working to bring its first two Australian processing facilities in Warren in Western New South Wales and Toowoomba in Southern Queensland into full production and has plans for five other Australian plants in Gladstone, Wagga, Geelong, Elizabeth and Collie Western Australia.
“In addition, we are in negotiations to finalise agreements for plants in the US, UK and South Africa. Each plant will have a capacity to process 19,300 tonnes of ELTs comprising a mix of passenger car, 4WD and truck tyres,” Bayley said.
He said that the volume of valuable recycled material that is produced by the process is quite impressive and a typical 10 kg car tyre will yield 3.7 litres of oil, 4.68 kg of carbon, 1.95kg of steel, a 70kg truck tyre will provide 26 litres of oil, 33 kg of carbon, 13.65 kg of steel and a 4 tonne oversize mining dump truck tyre will yield 1,570 litres of oil,1.7 tonnes of carbon, 0.76 tonne of steel.
“There is no shortage of raw material as there are 1.5 billion ELT discarded globally each year together with an existing stockpile of at least that volume in dumps around the world.
“In the light of this burgeoning environmental disposal problem our approach provides a recycling solution as we are able to turn a world environmental problem into valuable and highly saleable materials,” he said.