The German city of Osnabrück has stepped up to join the tyre recycling world by planning its own tyre pyrolysis plant.
Osnabrück Takes a Lead with Pyrolysis
In what is claimed to be a first, the German city of Osnabrück has taken on the role of recycler and aims to recycle 100 per cent of local tyre arisings at its own facility.
The top priority at the “Pieswerk” operation is compliance with high environmental and quality standards, which can be proven in an immediate certification meeting the ISCC Plus standard. The city has submitted an application for funding for the “Pieswerk” to the German Federal Environment Ministry – which supports municipal climate protection projects as part of the “Municipal Climate Protection Model Projects” funding program.
The “Pieswerk” will see granulated tyres with the steel removed being fed into the rotary kiln plant and processed at between 500 and 900 degrees. Liquid, solid and gaseous substances are formed under these high temperatures and with the exclusion of oxygen. The solid, the pyrolysis black (recovered carbon black), is ground and beaded and packed in bags for transport. The pyrolysis oil passes through a distillation unit, is desulphurised and divided into distilled pyrolysis oil, diesel and light petrol. The combustible gas is passed on to a block-type thermal power station, which in turn generates the electricity for heating the rotary kiln pyrolysis system
The model being used is one that could easily be adopted by larger municipalities to handle tyre and polymer wastes, whilst generating added value to the waste processed. Osnabrück is showing the world how to deal with difficult wastes, with a commercial benefit to the city, and a positive impact on the environment.