The CEO of Innovations pyrum shows an oil bottle made from used tires at its headquarters company in Dillingen, near the French border, 20 February 2014 (AFP / File / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN)
Recycle old oil quality tires? Saarland (western Germany), a young Franco-German company declares himself able, through a pyrolysis process. But the tire industry remains suspicious and conducts its own research.
After three years of work and ten million euros of investment, pyrum Innovations, based in Dillingen, near the French border, refines final adjustments of its first industrial unit, a metal silo 25 meters high
Its principle:. in a rendered inert environment to prevent combustion, used tires aggregates are heated to around 700 ° C in a vertical reactor, false Soyuz tunes, full of control probes containing baffles 300.
“Oil is formed in the condensation of the molecules,” explains Pascal Klein, 28 years, one of the two founders of pyrum. After refining, the resulting oil can be converted to 60% in equivalent diesel, 30% gasoline equivalent and 10% in solvents, he said.
With its production unit designed to transform 5,000 tons tires a year, says pyrum able to release 50% oil, 38% and 12% of coke gas, which is used to feed the huge generator of the site, functioning energy autarky.
pyrum, who participated this week in the contest Lépine in Paris, which features original inventions, hopes to commercialize its technology in the coming months.
The German Pascal Klein and the French Julien Dossman, founders of pyrum Innovations, pose in front their prototype February 20, 2014, in Dillingen in the Saarland, near the border with France (AFP / File / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN)
On paper, the potential market is huge: 17 million tonnes of used tires are generated each year worldwide, according to the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME)
The end of life tires. usually used as alternative fuel in cement plants or power plants or, to a lesser extent, are reused for road foundations, street furniture or noise walls.
Tyre manufacturers looking, too to overcome these conventional valuations and remake with old tires. One “has already made tires with our oil, he tested them on a circuit and he was satisfied”, says Klein. “But they do not want to commit at this time,” he regretted
-. ‘Venture Capital’ –
For over 20 years, companies worldwide develop pyrolysis processes for recycling, among other things, tire.
For now, “the viability of their business model is not yet demonstrated” and their products “are of lower quality and are unable to pass on price” compared to new materials, said Jean-Philippe Faure, director of research and development Aliapur, a leading player in the recovery of used tires in France.
Although being “attentive” to the progress of pyrolysis , tire manufacturers “do not want to run the risk of using a recycled product on which they still have doubts in terms of performance,” Mr. Faure analysis.
“Pyrolysis is even venture capital, though large group are interested, “says François Terrade, independent consultant in the industry. He recommends “strongly” its customers to turn away from the tire industry, “which has a lot of trouble getting rid of some misconceptions,” he said.
Being able to recycle tires alike ” is not enough, because tomorrow’s materials will be more interesting properties than today “justifies Thierry Willer, director of the scientific and technical communication at Michelin.
The group French was launched last year on an ambitious research program of € 51 million, with the support of ADEME, CEA and two other companies, Proteus and SDTech.
D a period of 8 years the project develops Trec two recycling pathways: one aims to treat tire particles with microorganisms that will “devulcanize” rubber eliminating sulfur
. second plans to manufacture synthetic rubber with butadiene biobased, from an alcohol produced by fermentation of synthesis gas obtained from used tires. What? By pyrolysis.
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