Some may have heard of the term ‘well to wheel’ which refers to accounting emissions from the oil well to the point where its energy has been used to turn the wheel of vehicle.
Rather ironically the tyre on that very wheel could also be converted into transport fuel which is partially renewable, and thus produce fuel that saves on Green House Gases. You can’t get much more circular than that, in a world increasingly focused on the Circular Economy. As Governments begin to change policies away from using crops to produce biofuels, waste tyres can help fill the gap and reduce emissions from transport.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems has already established it is technically feasible to refine tyre pyrolysis oil using existing, conventional, refinery steps. Enviro and Ragn-Sells commissioned the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) to explore different approaches to refining TPO based on refinery technologies. Enviro is now keen to progress to the next step – which is to demonstrate this commercially in partnership with a refinery. ( https://www.envirosystems.se/en/news/rise-project-oil-from-end-of-life-tyres-as-fuel-well-on-its-way-to-profitability/ )
2G BioPOWER is also putting effort into the search for a commercial solution, be that using a conventional refinery or a new stand-alone one. It has established that new incentives increasingly make this a viable proposition. The production of biofuel coupled with the recovery of Carbon Black makes tyre pyrolysis a highly attractive proposition – both commercially and environmentally.