End of life tyres to sulphur free oil, gasoline and diesel

Purpose and goal

The project aimed to contribute towards a circular economy by investigating how pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tires can be used instead of virgin fossil oil in three established processes. The project results all imply that tire pyrolysis oil is a suitable alternative feedstock for the refinery industry. Commercialization of the project concept would result in increased profitability for the recycling of tires via pyrolysis, which would reduce the consumption of virgin fossil oil and in a global perspective reduce tire landfills.

Expected results and effects

The project has reached the desired effect by demonstrating the potential of tire pyrolysis oil as an alternative feedstock for the refinery industry. In upgrading experiments, only small changes in product composition and yield were observed at addition of 20% tyre pyrolysis oil to the fossil feedstock. The pyrolysis oil is miscible with fossil oil, which is a logistic advantage. The total assess of end-of-life tyres and the TRL of the tyre pyrolysis process motivate further work within the area.

Planned approach and implementation

The project has been successfully implemented. A prolongation of the project period was necessary due to start-up problems of relatively new experimental setups. The project seminar made possible fruitful discussions with representatives from the whole value chain. Site visits have been performed at two of the participating organizations, which has increased the understanding and given new insights.