Conversion of waste tires into activated carbon through pyrolysis and physical activation with CO2
(2013) Enviromine 2013 - 3rd International Seminar on Environmental Issues in Mining — Location: Santiago du Chili (4.December.2013)
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- Authors
- et. al.
- Abstract
- A particular environmental problem is a growing generation and the difficulties in the disposal of waste tires. The European Union, USA, and Japan produce around 6 million tons of scrap tires per year; while in the entire world generate 1 billion of waste tires. Tires are an environmental passive produced by several sectors of the industry and human activity. The mining industry is closely related to the disposal of ELTs of high tonnage, yet, this sector has not proposed a possible solution to treat this type of waste. Commonly, landfill zones are the primary destiny of tires, where they represent hazards such diseases and accidental fires. Actual treatments such as energy recovery in cement kilns and recycling process do not offer an integral way to benefit the end life tires (ELT). However, pyrolysis has shown to be an alternative treatment, and an attractive way to recover valuable products such as combustible gases, fuel, and carbon. The last one is of interest in this research because it is the precursor in the production of activated carbon. This treatment proposes a possible solution to take profit of waste tires of mining industry. The main purpose of the present work was to prepare activated carbon from waste tires, which is suitable as an adsorbent of relatively large molecules. Small pieces of rubber (2-3 cm) from the sidewall of tires were used into the experimentation. The pyrolysis tests were developed into laboratory and pilot scales under temperatures between 450-550 °C. The physical activation of the char was carried under CO2 atmosphere and temperatures between 850-900 °C. The methods of iodine index, blue-methylene adsorption, and sugar index were used to determinate the specific area, and the adsorption capacity of activated carbon. Pyrolysis results demonstrated that residence times superior to 45 min were necessary to get a char with a high content of fixed carbon with an overall weight loss constant of 67%. Activated carbon with a specific area over 800 m2/g has been produced under certain conditions. The activation with CO2 shown a linear relationship between time residence and specific surface for burnoff less to 70%.
- Affiliations
Departamento de Metalurgia Extractiva Escuela Politécnica Nacional
Citations
Meza Trujillo, I., & et al. (2013). Conversion of waste tires into activated carbon through pyrolysis and physical activation with CO2. Enviromine 2013 - 3rd International Seminar on Environmental Issues in Mining, p. 619. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/227530