%0 Journal Article
%T Biocrude Production through Pyrolysis of Used Tyres
%A Julius I. Osayi
%A Sunny Iyuke
%A Samuel E. Ogbeide
%J Journal of Catalysts
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/386371
%X A review of the pyrolysis process of used tyre as a method of producing an alternative energy source is presented in this paper. The study reports the characteristics of used tyre materials and methods of recycling, types and principles of pyrolysis, the pyrolysis products and their composition, effects of process parameters, and kinetic models applied to pyrolysis. From publications, the proximate analysis of tyre rubber shows that it is composed of about 28.6£¿wt.% fixed carbon, 62£¿wt.% volatile material, 8.5£¿wt.% ash, and 0.9£¿wt.% moisture. Elemental analysis reveals that tyre rubber has an estimated value of 82£¿wt.% of C, 8£¿wt.% of H, 0.4£¿wt.% of N, 1.3£¿wt.% of S, 2.4£¿wt.% of O, and 5.9£¿wt.% of ash. Thermogravimetry analysis confirms that the pyrolysis of used tyre at atmospheric pressure commences at 250¡ãC and completes at 550¡ãC. The three primary products obtained from used tyre pyrolysis are solid residue (around 36£¿wt.%), liquid fraction or biocrude (around 55£¿wt.%), and gas fraction (around 9£¿wt.%). Although there is variation in the value of kinetic parameters obtained by different authors from the kinetic modeling of used tyre, the process is generally accepted as a first order reaction based on Arrhenius theory. 1. Introduction One of the main challenges of modern society is the rising rate of solid waste generated by man¡¯s activities which has poised a major environmental concern [1¨C3]. The disposal of used tyres and other polyisoprene based products is a large fraction of such problems as 1.3 billion tyres are estimated to reach their end of life cycle annually worldwide [4¨C9]. This is because of their excellent properties which have made them useful in all areas of human life [10]. However, these excellent properties also place them at a disadvantage [3, 11, 12] as they are not biologically degradable leading to problems with their disposal [2, 7, 11, 13¨C16]. Over the years landfill and open dumping (stock piling) were the common ways in handling the problem of used tyres. However, landfills take up valuable land space due to the bulky nature of tyres which cannot be compacted neither does it degrade easily [7, 11, 17¨C19]. Dumped used tyres in massive stockpiles do not only occupy a large land space but also serve as a potential health and environmental hazard due to the possibility of a fire outbreak with high emissions of toxic gases and as a breeding ground for disease carrying vectors [7, 15, 16, 20, 21]. Despite other tyre recycling options such as reclaiming, grinding, incineration, retreading, and so forth being used, these
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jcat/2014/386371/