R From used tyres to rubber powder - MeWa Recycling Maschinen ...

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From used tyres to rubber powder
New process provides high-quality secondary raw material as a natural rubber
substitute
Monoculture: Rubber plantation in Asia.
Rubber products require rubber as
a raw material. Either natural rubber,
which is often cultivated on
large plantations – with all the problems
associated with a monoculture. Or alternatively
synthetic rubber, which is produced
using crude oil. Both processes use
a high amount of resources. At the end
of the chain, mountains of used car tyres
crop up on the landscape.
These waste sites are taken on by used
tyre and rubber recycling plants nowadays.
Certain types of plant produce a very fine
rubber granulate here.
This granulate can later be used for the
manufacture of new products. Combined
with adhesives, for example, it can be used
in the construction of sports complexes,
in moulded parts for road construction,
as an additive to asphalt or in the construction
industry. Due to its material properties,
however, the granules are limited
to certain applications.
Active Fine Grinding
MeWa, the Gechingen-based machinery
builder, has developed its own process
to make this granulate into a high-quality
secondary raw material. The process works
at ambient temperature without the need
to add nitrogen. The so-called active fine
grinding of old rubber produces a raw
material with the best properties.
Active means the processing or pressing
of the rubber powder produced into
moulded parts without adding adhesives.
In future the material can be directly
added to the natural rubber in many
applications, replacing between 10 and
90 percent of it depending on the standard.
This makes the powder suitable for
a variety of products, as about the same
amount of rubber that tyre manufacturers
need is required for other applications in
the market.
The rubber powder end product stands
out due to its fine grain size and therefore
looks no different to the original rubber.
As the powder can be further processed
without expensive adhesives, it is itself
recyclable. The hitherto disadvantages
of the granules produced are therefore
eliminated. The rubber from the recycling
process is not only considerably cheaper
to make than natural rubber, it also conserves
valuable resources. ■
Using the active fine
grinding process, MeWa
produces a substitute raw
material of high purity out
of used tyres.
The powder can be mixed
back in for the manufacture
of rubber products
without any problem.
Up to 90 per cent of the
natural rubber originally
used can be replaced in
this way.
Rubber granules.
Active rubber powder.
MeWa-News December 2007