Syngas Quality as a Key Factor in the Design of an Energy-Efficient Pyrolysis Plant for Scrap Tyres
In 2016 4.94 million tonnes of tyres were produced. Each tyre eventually become waste and pyrolysis has been considered an effective way of utilizing scrap tyres for several decades. However, pyrolysis has failed many times because the process has a great energy demand and the quality of products is unstable or insufficient for commercial use. Usually plants are focused on the production of pyrolytic oil or char and the gaseous phase is only a by-product. In this paper the importance of composition and quality of pyrolytic gas is emphasized. The main chemical properties make this gas a valuable biofuel that may satisfy energy requirements of the whole process (except for the start-up phase). Available data from literature concerning composition and other features of the pyrolytic gas from scrap tyres obtained at temperatures up to 1000 °C are compared with experimental results. The quality of evolved gases is discussed in the context of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), too. Finally, an analysis of the mass balances obtained allows a decision about the business profile and profitability.