After the scrap tire industry experienced a downturn in 2009 until 2011, there has been a resurgence of sorts for recyclers and end users alike.
According to Mike Hinsey, international vice president at Granutech Saturn Systems, domestically the tire recycling market is very mature with most established firms expanding capacity to meet growing demand.
“There is also growth in processing of the non-traditional tires, the large OTRs (over the roads),” Hinsey said. “To meet this demand in mining regions of the world, larger more powerful shredders are being produced.”
Internationally there is significant new growth in regions with little established tire recycling process capacity. These regions are seeking smaller capacity systems while still producing fine powders.
As Hinsey explained, manufacturers are meeting this demand by reducing process steps, and having more manual functions. The fine powder can be produced in machines such as the G-4X mill with the new roller bearing design that allows larger product to be fed to the mill while making 30 mesh and smaller material.
And for the most part, the tire recycling industry is looking for increased system capacity, and making finer products, while reducing system and operating costs.
“Manufacturers are responding with more powerful shredders and grinders, such as the Super 80 Grizzly, that can process over 200 tons per day, and allow some operational steps to be eliminated so the plant cost and energy requirements are actually reduced from where we were 5 years back,” Hinsey said.
Historically Speaking
According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, in 1990, only 11 percent of tires were consumed on a per tire basis. In 2013, end use markets consumed 95.9 percent by weight of the scrap tires generated in the U.S. Since 2011 the percentage of scrap tires consumed by markets increased 12.9 percent, while the volume of tires utilized increased by about 418 thousand tons.
“In excess of 90 percent of all tires are collected in the U.S., which means the industry is strong, as tire sales have picked up due to the strengthening economy,” said Charlie Astafan, general manager at CM Tire Recycling Equipment.
Keith Sacks, vice president of Rubberecycle, manufacturer of rubber mulch and residential surfacing products made from scrap tires, explains that more and more products both in and out of the recreation market are growing as the industry continues to grow both in commercial and residential areas.
“Tire recycling technology has really made the process easy and efficient and is taking off and being used in many different ways,” Sacks said.
“Recycled tires are being used for playground safety, landscaping, horse tracks, obstacle courses and even as bullet traps for ballistic courses. And many states have recently started to look at recycled tires as a way to repave roads.”
Tire recycling is a strong industry with incredible room for growth. As such, some processors are seeking higher capacity while reducing their operating cost per ton. While they face increased product demand there is also product price pressure.
According to Sacks, the benefits to the environment as well as the recycling industry are proving that we can be more innovative and open minded with how and what we recycle and do a better job of creating sustainable recycling. Today’s tire recyclers have to focus more on educating people about rubber recycling.
“In recent years, we have faced many erroneous claims of tire rubber being harmful to users and the environment,” Sacks said. “All of these claims have been consistently refuted with facts, data, and credible studies that prove rubber recycling is safe. Unfortunately, people still find it hard to trust inorganic recycled materials. Hopefully when the current government study is completed it will do a better job of convincing people that rubber recycle is not only safe for the environment and personal health, but also an important step in us learning how to recycle and create a more sustainable world.”
In addition, government regulations are continuing to impact the tire recycling industry. There are various different government agencies and regulations that rubber recyclers have to work with, which vary by state. Additional regulations come into play depending on what the recycled rubber is being used for, such as playground safety.
For Astafan, focusing on markets should be imperative for tire recyclers.
“Markets have always been challenging for tire recycling,” Astafan said. “The business tends to be geographical therefore you must balance your incoming flow of tires with the available markets that you have reasonable access to.”
So what are the biggest trends facing the scrap tire industry? According to Jon Maly, sales manager at Eco Green Equipment, one of the key trends is higher quality TDF (tire derived fuel) chip production that is moving towards the wire-free market.
“This is due to the increased BTU value per ton with the steel removed from rubber,” Maly said. “Also, it reduces the material handling challenges processors face with steel in the rubber. Users, such as industrial boilers, prefer wire-free TDF.”
Maly added that more companies are focusing on cleaner, 30 mesh minus production for secondary uses.
Technology Inroads
Recent machinery designs have allowed processors to achieve higher capacity production than has ever been achieved in granulate production. As Hinsey explained, while there has been high shredding capacity for some time, the ability to produce a steel free product, such as a mulch material where the steel has been separated, has only come to the market in the last four to five years.
“The 10 ton per hour grinders have provided operators a way to reduce their costs and allowed them to produce a low steel fuel quality product at a profitable price point,” Hinsey said. “For powder production, the enhancements in mill technology are allowing processors to make smaller powder at higher production rates than had even been achievable.”
Technology and equipment also have allowed the industry to improve is processes. Over the past 20 years the equipment enhancements have benefited the industry in numerous ways.
“A number of years ago processors were predominantly using equipment from the general waste and plastics industry for processing tires,” Astafan said. “Today more and more equipment manufacturers are developing equipment specifically for tire reduction and separation. These machines are much heavier and can withstand the wear and tear of tires with their reinforced steel.”
Rubber recycle has made many in-house improvements to further enhance the equipment’s capabilities and output that have greatly changed our production over the past 17 years,” Sacks said. “Through technological advancements, we are able to remove all of the metal within the tires, as well as wash, mulch, and paint the rubber.”
In addition, Astafan stressed that tire recyclers need to pay specific attention to their processing plants, including storm water run-off and air quality. And pay specific attention to the market’s air emissions regulations regarding the burning the solid waste and other solid fuels such as coal.
“I also would pay close attention and become actively involved in the issues surrounding the field turf,” Astafan said. “This issue could be significant to this market as well as others, even though it is unfounded and not based on facts or science. Also any regulations regarding the sale of used tires could cause a serious impact to the industry.”
Growth Potential
The tire recycling is growing and looking promising. According to Maly, major markets such as wire-free mulch continue to grow year after year. Other markets for crumb rubber and smaller sizing are also growing as the demand for secondary products and uses such as plastic blends, molded products, and industrial applications continue to grow.
“Several areas for secondary markets are growing,” Maly said. “Markets such as pour in place, rubber/plastic blends, rubber modified asphalt and general industrial and construction products/fills, are all on the upswing. New uses for secondary rubber uses also are being developed every month.”
Of course, growth potential within the tire recycling industry is directly related to access of tires and the access to markets.
“Also there has been a lot of activity in pyrolysis in the past three to four years,” Astafan said. “If there are advancements in this technology this could be a disrupter to the industry.” Pyrolysis is a method used for recycling used tires whereby the tires – either whole or shredded – are subjected to heat in an oxygen-starved atmosphere. The result is tires that are converted to oil, gas, and carbon char to be used as fuel by the waste tyre pyrolysis plant.
Once the government agencies finalize their report on rubber recycled material, experts expect the growth of the industry should be 10 percent plus per year. Even now there are many states and areas looking to use recycled rubber in new and innovative ways, such as rubberized asphalt.
“Once the claims of toxicity are more clearly debased, the industry will have a clear and strong path forward,” Sacks said. “I also think more and more industries will find new and innovative ways to use recycled rubber. Recyclers and environmentally-friendly agencies can use the success of tire recycling to push new and innovative recycling opportunities.”
“There is a tremendous amount of room for growth in tire recycling,” Sacks said. “Around 300 million scrap tires are discarded yearly in the U.S. alone, which means there are many tires to go around. The only thing recyclers need to know is that tires need to be thoroughly cleaned and have all metal removed from them.”
Astafan believes that unless there is a disruption to the status quo with regulations, tire design or new potential markets for the materials derived from ground tires, he expects to see slow growth throughout the industry.
“As competition continues to increase, there also will be a continued trading of market share between processors, with some processors expanding and some processors going out of business due to the competitive pressures,” Astafan said.
While there is high demand for rubber modified asphalt regions of the U.S. and overseas, there is increasing demand for this small rubber powder and there appears to be a steady but slow growth market segment, especially in the international field.
“As for concerns, the recent health debate on sports fields using recycled rubber, which basically ignores numerous scientific studies, is causing some contraction in the industry,” Hinsey said. “To address this there are additional studies being conducted and coordinated efforts are being made on behalf of the industry to make certain that factual data and not gossip is the basis for policy decisions.
Article source: http://americanrecycler.com/8568759/index.php/news/rubber-recycling/1680-rubber-recycling-a-growing-industry.