Waste Tires Disposal by Thermal Plasma for Power Generation and Carbon Black Recovery

Pyrolysis of waste tires in thermal plasma is studied for the purpose of power generation and recovering carbon black filler. The results of a series of experiments have shown that the main components of the gaseous product are H₂, CO, C₂H₂, CH₄, and C₂H₄; the heat value of the gas is about 5-9 MJ/Nm³, therefore, it can be used as an efficient fuel source for industrial processes such as power generation. The solid product contains more than 80 wt% elemental carbon, has a surface area of about 65 m²/g, and is referred to as pyrolytic carbon black (CBp). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis has revealed that the CBp has mainly graphitic carbon structure similar to those of commercial carbon black. Thus thermal plasma pyrolysis is potentially a useful way of treating waste tires for power generation and carbon black recovery.