The company's process, which is still at a research and development stage, involves heating tyres to reduce the material down to oil, carbon and steel components for recycling. Trials have been carried out using sample waste tyres provided by Sheffield-based Credential Tyre Recycling.
Used Tyre Distillation Research marketing director Paul Archer explained that the process is different to straight pyrolysis. He said: “Instead of heating the waste twice – as with conventional pyrolysis – our system is more efficient because it heats continuously, rather than allowing the oven to cool and then re-heat.”
But although Used Tyre Distillation Research has received 70,000 from the lottery-funded National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, it is yet to secure funding for a full-scale commercial plant.
Mr Archer said the businesses needed to raise another 140,000 to complete research and development work before plans for the plant went ahead. This would see a prototype recycling machine set up to shred tyres, remove fabric and steel and process the rubber into oil and carbon black, he said.
He explained: “We need to do some further work on the limitations of our technology and potential throughput and outputs.”
Under the Landfill Directive, whole tyres cannot go to landfill for disposal unless used in landfill engineering projects. From July 2006, shredded tyres will also be banned from landfill. About 430,000 tonnes of tyres went to landfill in 1999.
Funding
Used Tyre Distillation Research is proposing to set up the full-scale commercial plant in an Objective One area of North Wales, which would mean eligibility for certain funding streams. Initially, though Mr Archer hopes for funding from small investors.
He said: “We are looking for small investors to come on board at this stage, but at the later, commercial plant stage we will be seeking support from banks, venture capitalists and the Objective One programme.”
Ideally, he said the company would hope to have a plant up and running within 18 months. And, key to the success of the plant, he added, was that it was in an accessible area to ensure a good supply of waste tyres. In setting up operations, the company should find plenty of competition to obtain supplies of waste tyres, such as from the cement industry.
Mr Archer said: “I would be a fool to accept that cement kilns were not competitors, but as recycling systems become more efficient I believe people will used processes like ours as a preferred method.”
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