World-leading tyre recycling operator in Warren, NSW

An Australian recycling start-up has been named as Australia’s first ever finalist in the US-based Edison Awards, one of the world’s top gongs for cleantech innovation.

Green Distillation Technologies (GDT) is in the process of commercialising its technology that converts 90% of a discarded car or truck tyre into saleable carbon, oil and steel, having successfully tested it at their pilot plant in Warren, NSW.

Some 24 million tyres are estimated to be disposed of in Australia each year, but recycling options have been limited due to high cost of production, an inability to achieve high sale pricing and the saturation of substitute products in the market.

GDT’s distillation technology is super efficient, recovering 90% of the input weight of the tyre feedstock in the form of saleable commodities.

The oil produced from the GDT process can be used as a heating fuel, direct into some stationary diesel engines or is capable of further refinement into automotive or aviation fuels, while the carbon is a high grade product that can replace those sourced from fossil fuels and the steel is returned directly to tyre manufacturers for reuse.

GDT says it achieves this economy this by heating tyres in a vacuum, as opposed to a furnace, and as a result causing very little oxidisation. The remaining 10% of the input is effectively consumed through partial exothermic oxidisation during the process. The process is not only emission free but the recycled oil is used as the heat source for the production process.

The company is in the process of upgrading its Warren plant to full production capable of processing 19,000 tonnes of tyres per year ~ the equivalent to about 3% of number of tyres disposed of in Australia each year.

Re~post:  Melbourne tyre recycler Australia’s first finalist in top global innoavation awards  | Renew Economy