Chemical Reclamation of Scrap Rubber

摘要

A conceptual, commercial-scale plant design was formulated for processing 22,500 t/yr of scrap rubber tires to hydrocarbon fuel gases, oils, petrochemicals (principally ethylene and aromatic liquids), and carbon black. The process is based upon molten salt (zinc chloride) pyrolysis of the rubber, and pyrolysis data obtained in a bench-scale flow apparatus. An economic assessment of the plant was made in terms of late 1979 dollars, for ranges in scrap tire costs and prices for the principal products: carbon black and the fuel gases and oil. Profitability at these 1979 costs and prices is somewhat modest by chemical processing industry standards for new processes, but any increases in energy and carbon black prices would cause favorable changes in this assessment.