Tire Recycling in The EU

Tyre Recycling in the
European Union
Dr. Valerie L. Shulman

Secretary General, ETRA
17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 1

ETRA : The European Tyre Recycling Association
• Founded in 1994, with 19 members in 5 EU States
• ETRA has ±250 members in 43 countries, including each EU State;
• The mission : to develop tyre recycling as an environmentally and commercially sustainable
European industry
• Objectives: to develop and advance policies that support the industry;
to expand and develop markets; QuickTime™ and a
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to development and implement professional standards;

to prepare and promote guidelines for materials, products,
applications;
to provide communication links
• Membership is open to the public and private sectors

Post-consumer tyres
~ 3,250,000 tonnes of post-consumer tyres are permanently

removed each year from cars and trucks in the 27 EU States - and
defined as waste
It is estimated that an additional ~60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of post-

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consumer tyres are permanently removed each year from

agricultural and other off-road vehicles in the 27 EU States - but not
defined as waste

Compared with other waste streams
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The raw materials
Rubber compounds - throughout the
tyre : treads, sidewalls, etc.
Plies and belts : layers of brass

coated steel with rubber
QuickTime™ and a
Bead wire : Cords of high tensile steel

that give form to the tyre
Casing : Made of metal, rayon, nylon.

Polyester cords

Composition by weight of tyres
Material Car/utility% Truck/lorry%
Rubber/elastomersa ±48 ±45
Carbon black or silicab ±22 ±22
Metal ±15 ±25
Textile ±5 - QuickTime™ and a
Zinc oxide ±1 ±2
Sulphur ±1 ±1
Additives ±8 ±5
A Truck tyres contain proportionately more natural rubber in comparison to synthetic rubber than do car tyres
b Different varieties of carbon black are used for different purposes and may appear in other categories of material
The rubber compounds, metals and textiles are recovered through material recycling

Recycling makes sense
• It requires 121,000BTUs to produce 1 kg of new rubber materials
• It requires only 2,200BTUs to produce 1 kg of clean granulate or

powder.
Put another way, the Co2 equivalent for 1kg of rubber is : QuickTime™ and a
4,351 for Natural rubber

3,409 for SBR
0,097 for recycled rubber

Considering energy use
The production of 1 tonne of rubber requires the following :
– Natural rubber requires the same amount of energy as driving from

Brussels to Singapore (about 10,560km)
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– Synthetic rubber (SBR) requires the equivalent of driving from Rome

to Sidney Australia (15,000km)
– Recycled rubber is a much shorter trip - it uses the equivalent of a

400 km ride from Paris (France) to Geneva (Switzerland)

Means of tyre valorisation
 Re-use and or export
 Retreading
 Material recycling including :
 Civil engineering and construction applications
 Environmental rehabilitation projects
 Consumer and industrial products
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 Energy recovery for :

 Co-incineration
 Cement kilns
Each form of valorisation requires a consistent flow of input

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
QuickTime™ and a
0%
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004-5 2005-6
Landfill 62% 56% 49% 40% 39% 35% 26.4% 23.8% 18.0%
Reuse/export 6% 8% 8% 11% 10% 10% 11.4% 8.0% 7.0%
Retreading 13% 12% 12% 11% 11% 11% 12.6% 12.0% 10.5%
Recycling 5% 6% 11% 18% 19% 21% 25.0% 27.1% 31.8%
Energy 14% 18% 20% 20% 21% 23% 24.4% 27.1% 34.5%

The attainment level : 2005-6
In 2005-6, ±2 669 219 tonnes of post-consumer tyres were treated in an

environmentally sound manner within the 25 States of the EU.
± 222 975 tonnes : export (± 7%)

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± 333 250 tonnes : retreading (± 10,5%)
±1 012 920 tonnes : material recycling (± 31,8%)
±1 100 075 tonnes : energy recovery (±34,5%)
Together, ±83,8% of post-consumer tyres were diverted from landfills.

Elements of the recycling process
• Collecting (manual)
• Sorting
• Pre-treating
• Debeading
• Cutting
• Processing (mechanical) QuickTime™ and a
• Shredding
• Granulating
» Sieving
» Packaging
» Storing
» Delivering

The start of tyre recycling : Collecting
• Knowing where the tyres are
– At small individual sites :
• Garages, tyre shops, small retailers, vehicle sales
– At large communal depots
• Tyre distributors QuickTime™ and a
• Fleet managers
• Municipal depots
• Vehicle dismantlers
• Knowing how to move the tyres

Basic collection information
Tyres
Category Approx. Wt./ tyre p/tonne
• Off road/agricultural tyres 170 kg 5.88
• Truck tyres 56 kg 17.86

18.52
• Bus tyres 54 kg QuickTime™ and a
125
• Utility tyres 8 kg
142.60
• Passenger car tyres 7 kg
125
• Winter tyres 8kg

EU Collection systems
Sweden Finland
Producer responsibility
Free market system Norway
Adaptation Estonia
In transition Latvia
mark
Lithuania
Den
Ireland
d Poland
llan
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UK
Ho
Belgium Germany
Lux Czech Republic
ia
France Slovak
Austria
Hungary
en ia Romania
Slov
Italy
Bulgaria
Spain
alg
rtu
Greece
Po
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17-19 February 2008 Malta 15
Formula for tyre Collection
• To move 1 tonne of tyres costs approximately 2€ per km
• Passenger car tyres : 6 - 12 tonnes per delivery

15 tonnes in a walking floor truck
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• Truck tyres : approximately 14 - 15 tonnes per delivery

17 - 18 tonnes in a walking floor truck
• Off-road tyres : 15 tonnes per delivery

Stacked tyres
Whole tyres are often stacked in
a basketweave to save space -
particularly when the tyres will be
retreaded
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Tyres for recycling are often

transported in bulk - as whole,
or as tyre cuts

The next steps
1. Sorting : Manual process
According to category : truck, passenger car, other
Road-worthy : undamaged with minimum 1.66mm tread

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Retreadable : repairable casing in good condition
Non-retreadable : raw material for recycling
Many of these tyres are exported to other countries that have

less restrictive road-use standards
Preparation for recycling
2. Pre-treatment : Manual processes
Removal of debris
Rinsing - remove dirt, etc.
Cutting in halves/quarters QuickTime™ and a

Debeading

Not all tyres are ready for treatment
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Truck tyre debeading
• Truck tyres are debeaded
• The steel is removed
• A 60 second spurt at 150

kW/h/t is used
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• Clean tyre bead steel can

substitute virgin material -
dependent upon use

Tyre processing
• Shredding
• Chipping
• Granulating
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• Fine granulating
• Powders
• Material upgrading

Environmental impacts : per tonne
Material Feedstock Energy use Emission limits/unit of operation
Debeading Truck tyres 150 kWh/t 3
+0,4 mg /m dust
60 sec s purt +95 dB (A) noise
Shred, chips Dependent upon use : Whole 35-50 kWh/t 3
+0,2 mg /m dust
and/or cut c ar, util ity, truck +95 dB (A) noise
and o ther tyres
SOx 0 NOx 0
Water - trace
Size reduction Dependent upon pr oduct: 120 kWh/t 3 3
0,2 mg /m dust G; 0,4 mg /m dust P
Granulate & whole, cuts, shred, chips, +85 dB (A) noise (newer sys tems enc ased)
powder tr eads, sidewalls, techn ical +90 dB (A) noise (encas ed) so me older, du al
rubber process sy stems
So x0 NOx 0 QuickTime™ and a
Water – below allowable levels

Fine po wder Dependent upon pr oduct: 110-150 KW/t +0,2 kg/h dust
<600 µm granulate as p roduced 1.3 tN2/t +85 dB noise (encased sy stem)
above granulate So x 0 NOx 0
Devulcanis ation Dependent upon pr oduct: 150 – 200 kWh/t 3
+0,2 mg /m dust
(non-chemical) Shredded/granulated tyres, +90 dB noise
As produ ced above
SOx 0 NOx 0
Pyrolysis Dependent upon pr oduct : 370 kWh/t Local l egal l imits for air emissions 30– 45 dB
As above Water – below allowable levels

Shred and chips
• Shredders can be mobile or fixed
 Shred can vary in size from
±75mm to 300mm in any
dimension.
 Smaller shred, of <±100mm, can
be used loose or compacted, in QuickTime™ and a
applications with or without binders

 Chips, from ±15 - ±75mm, can be
used in applications with or without
binders

Granulation plant in operation
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Cost-use-triangle
The Post -consumer tyre usage hierarc hy Capital invest ment Pri ncipal Consumers Examples of use
Whol e < 100,000€ 100% publ ic sect or artificial reefs , erosion contr ol
Cut noi se barri ers, s tabilisation
Shred and c hip s < 1,000,000€ ±80% pub lic sect or lightweight fill for construct ion ,
±20% private sect or roads, insulation , landfill constr uction
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> 1,000,000€ ±80% pri vate sec tor consumer/indu stri al applications,
Granulate and powders ±20% publ ic sector produ ct s, sports surfaces , some publ ic
civil engineeri ng appl ic ation s
Multi-treatment materia ls <10,000,000€ ±95% privat e sect or consumer/indu stri al produ cts ,
±5% publ ic sector coatings, some road const ruction
Preliminary speci fication s of many of these appl ication s and produ cts are provided in the CEN Works hop Agreement on Post-consumer tyre s.

The range of materials : outputs
 Since 1995, the range of post-consumer tyre materials produced and used has
expanded - principally at the extremes
 Larger materials, i.e., whole treated and untreated tyres, bales, shred, chips are
increasingly selected by civil engineers

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Smaller materials, i.e., granulate, powders, fine powders and specialised products
(reclaim, devulcanisates, thermoplastic elastomers, etc.) are being selected by
manufacturers of consumer and technical products
 Recycling residues are increasingly used for specific innovative applications

Post-consumer tyre materials
The changing balance of material production and use
Granulate
54%
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Powders
10%
Whole tyres Specialty
12% Shred/chips Misc. 7%
15% 2%

Whole tyres
 Whole tyres can be recycled
without physical or chemical
transformation
 Principal methods of treatment

include cutting into halves or
quarters,
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 untreated or, treated by removing

the beads or sidewalls, or by
compression

Characteristics of whole tyres
Characteristics
• Lightweight,
• Low compacted density,
• High void ratio, QuickTime™ and a
• Good compressibility,
• Water permeability,
• Thermal insulation
• Non-biodegradable

Examples of whole tyre uses
Slope stabilisation
Construction bale
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Erosion control
Coastal and fluvial protection

Shred and Chips
 Shred and chips are the result of
mechanical processes by which tyres are
fragmented into irregular pieces
 Shred can vary in size from ±75mm to

300mm in any dimension.
 Smaller shred, of <±100mm, can be used

QuickTime™ and a
loose or compacted, in applications with

or without binders
 Chips, from ±15 - ±75mm, can be used in

applications with or without binders

Characteristics of shred and chips
Characteristics
• Lightweight,
• Low compacted density,
• High void ratio, QuickTime™ and a
• Good compressibility,
• Water permeability 10-1 to
10-3 m/s
• Thermal insulation
• Low earth pressure

Examples of shred and chips
Compacted shred
Landfill cell
(geotextile)
Drainage systems
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Loose unbound chips : Loose shred
Compacted unbound chips
Bound chips
Building insulation
Granulate
 Granulate is the result of processing

rubber to reduce it in size into finely
dispersed particles from ±1mm to
±10mm
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 There are two principal methods of

production : ambient and cryogenic
 Ambient size reduction is the most

common, particularly for larger truck
tyres.
Characteristics of granulate
Characteristics
Variations are based upon
the treatment technology
Ambient : irregular shape; some
thermal degradation due to
treatment; reduced cross- QuickTime™ and a
linking
Cryogenic : regular shape and
particle size; smooth, glossy
surface; no surface
decomposition or thermal stress

Examples of granulate uses
Artificial turf
Road
Roadfurniture
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furniture
Running tracks
Artificial turf
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Insulation
Indoor or outdoor
Children’s play grounds
tiles/pavers Sports arenas
Sports stadia
Powders and fine powders
 Fine granulate is the result of

ambient or cryogenic process-ing
to obtain finely dispersed particles
of less than ±2mm.
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 Powders and fine powders are the

result of processing and post-
treating the material to obtain finely
dispersed particles of ±500µm -
<1.mm

Characteristics of powders
Characteristics
Powders are processed to modify
one or more charac-teristic to
restore some properties of virgin
rubber.
Powders include reclaim, surface QuickTime™ and a
modified or re-activated material,

elasto- meric alloys, among
others.
They are most often used as
ingredients in compounds that
are mixed or blended with virgin
material

Examples of powders, fine powders
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Steering wheels, head backs

Rail tracks
Road surfacing, spray seals, mixes
Bellows
Spray coating
Caps, sealers Bumpers, fenders

20
We’ll continue to work on it
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Thank you for your attention

The 15th Annual European Conference
on tyre recycling
Towards a Recycling society :

QuickTime™ and a
the challenge
2 - 5 April 2008 The Crowne Plaza Europa, Brussels

Tire Recycling in The EU

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Tyre Recycling in the

Dr. Valerie L. Shulman

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 1

to development and implement professional standards;

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 2

~ 3,250,000 tonnes of post-consumer tyres are permanently

It is estimated that an additional ~60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of post-

consumer tyres are permanently removed each year from

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 3

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 4

Plies and belts : layers of brass

Bead wire : Cords of high tensile steel

Casing : Made of metal, rayon, nylon.

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 5

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 6

• It requires only 2,200BTUs to produce 1 kg of clean granulate or

4,351 for Natural rubber

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 7

– Natural rubber requires the same amount of energy as driving from

– Synthetic rubber (SBR) requires the equivalent of driving from Rome

– Recycled rubber is a much shorter trip - it uses the equivalent of a

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 8

 Energy recovery for :

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 9

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004-5 2005-6

Reuse/export 6% 8% 8% 11% 10% 10% 11.4% 8.0% 7.0%

Recycling 5% 6% 11% 18% 19% 21% 25.0% 27.1% 31.8%

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 10

In 2005-6, ±2 669 219 tonnes of post-consumer tyres were treated in an

± 222 975 tonnes : export (± 7%)

± 333 250 tonnes : retreading (± 10,5%)

±1 012 920 tonnes : material recycling (± 31,8%)

±1 100 075 tonnes : energy recovery (±34,5%)

Together, ±83,8% of post-consumer tyres were diverted from landfills.

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 12

• Knowing how to move the tyres

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 13

• Truck tyres 56 kg 17.86

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 14

RecShow 08 Jordan Cyprus

• To move 1 tonne of tyres costs approximately 2€ per km

• Passenger car tyres : 6 - 12 tonnes per delivery

• Truck tyres : approximately 14 - 15 tonnes per delivery

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 16

Tyres for recycling are often

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 17

According to category : truck, passenger car, other

Road-worthy : undamaged with minimum 1.66mm tread

Retreadable : repairable casing in good condition

Non-retreadable : raw material for recycling

Many of these tyres are exported to other countries that have

Rinsing - remove dirt, etc.

Cutting in halves/quarters QuickTime™ and a

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 19

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 20

• The steel is removed

• A 60 second spurt at 150

• Clean tyre bead steel can

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 21

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 22

Water – below allowable levels

17-19 February 2008 RecShow 08 Jordan 23

applications with or without binders