OTR Wheel Engineering, the Rome, Georgia-based manufacturer of off-road tyres, rims and related equipment is stepping into the recycling of tyres by pyrolysis.
Green Carbon Inc. Looks to How to Dispose of Tyres in the State
The patented recycling process, done by an OTR subsidiary called Green Carbon Inc., also based in Rome, aims to tackle the issue of what to do with OTR tyres in the state.
GCI’s Phil Wilson said the company had faced a problem for decades in trying to determine what to do with scrap tyres, particularly the massive tyres used on mining and agricultural equipment which OTR specialises in. Wilson said OTR personnel researched a technique called pyrolysis and tweaked it to create a thermal vacuum recovery system.
A gas fuelled reactor with a ten-foot in diameter door was developed to be able to contain all but the two largest tyres that are currently available on the market. “Any sort of hydrocarbon can go in there,” Wilson explained. Aside from tyres, worn out conveyor belts or rubberised tracks used on smaller bulldozers can also be reduced to its original materials.
“The process is very environmentally friendly,” Wilson said.
The company is paid $2,800 per tyre for the recycling of OTR tyres and get $1.50 per tyre for the typical automotive tyres.
