Scientists of the Ural Federal University (UrFU, Yekaterinburg) have developed an effective and environmentally friendly technology for processing old tires for the production of methyl alcohol — methanol, which can be used as motor fuel for vehicles and aircraft.This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
“Scientists from UrFU (Yekaterinburg) proposed to recycle old automobile tires for the production of methanol. To do this, it is supposed to use the method of steam gasification of tires at a temperature of 700 degrees, and to obtain synthesis gas with its subsequent processing into a useful product — methanol, ”the message says.

Disposal and efficient use of waste is one of the urgent tasks for many countries. Spent car tires pose a significant threat to the environment, so their efficient recycling is very important. The world volume of this type of waste is estimated at more than 10 million tons per year, and the Russian one — at 1 million tons per year.

The use of worn tires is of great economic importance, since the elimination of landfills will free up significant areas of land occupied by them. A number of tire recycling technologies are currently in use: mechanical, using cryogenic technology, chemical methods, ozone tire recycling, tire pyrolysis and gasification. However, so far all these methods have not solved the problem of recycling used tires.
According to Sergei Shcheklein, Head of the Department of Nuclear Power Plants and Alternative Energy, UrFU, scientists use a drum reactor to process tires, where methanol can be obtained at high pressure and temperature. The amount of rubber processed by the installation is up to 457 kg per hour, and the methanol productivity is up to 328 kg per hour.

“From the resulting methanol, formaldehyde can be produced for the manufacture of polymeric materials. Methanol can also be used as motor fuel for vehicles and aircraft. The scientific group of this project, led by Shcheklein, will be part of a world-class interregional scientific and educational center created in the Urals region as part of the Nauka (Science) national project, the ministry’s press service added.