US-based plastics recycling company Green EnviroTech Holdings (GETH) will set up two tyre recycling plants in the country using the latest technology from East Asia. The technology, which is currently in operation in nine locations in East Asia, has been evaluated by the company that confirms the viability of the system to convert discarded/used tyres to oil. The company has also entered into an agreement with Ebbros Investment Group that will buy the oil produced.
GETH says it did an on-site analysis to assess the quality of the oil produced for use in the US and to also assess the emission levels from the plants with test results confirming that converted oil and emission levels are well within required levels for the US.
Meanwhile, in the deal with Ebbros, the latter will develop the plants, including all the infrastructure, install
necessary equipment and lease the same back to GETH. Ebbros will also purchase all the oil produced at the plants, which is estimated to be in the region of 10,700 barrels/month at each site.
The agreement further states that the lease-back is to be for a period of ten years or longer with
GETH having a buy back clause during this period for the purchase of the physical site and equipment. Ebbros
has also indicated its intention to work with GETH on a similar basis for all future tyre to oil recycling plants.
GETH also removes contaminants from recovered plastic recaptured from end of life automotive vehicles
shredded for their metal. It processes this recovered plastic to produce compounded plastic resin and light sweet crude oil as end products. Its patented process is said to significantly reduce the amount of shredder
residue going to landfills by up to 40% creating considerable cost savings for metal recyclers while also reducing the volume of materials going to the landfill.
Meanwhile, US automotive maker Ford and Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM) have found a way to combine
discarded tyres with bio-renewable content and make environmentally friendly seals and gaskets for the company’s vehicles.
The gaskets and seals are derived from 25% post-consumer recycled tyres and 17% bio-renewable content from soy.
In total, more than 1 million kg of rubber from recycled tyres has been made into RPM seals and gaskets and
more than 210,000 used tyres have been recycled. Additionally, 68,000 kg of soy has been used to
create the materials, Ford says.
The seals also offer a weight saving, with more than 1,675 tonnes of weight removed from Ford vehicles on the road. The sustainable gaskets were first introduced to Ford in 2008 and have now expanded to include
11 vehicles, including the 2011 models of the F-150, Escape, Mustang, Focus and Fiesta. (PRA)
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