Abstract

Method for traveling fluidized bed distillation of coarse ground tire scrap, rubber vulcanizate (also vulcanized rubber), in a mixture with coarse aggregate. The rubber and aggregates are charges to a vertical still equipped with power burners near the bottom to burn a portion of the carbonaceous residue and supply the needed heat for the distillation process. The volatile materials and the pyrolysis oil vapors are drawn at the top for recovery and processing. Fines are recovered and the aggregate still at elevated temperatures are recycled to the top of the column and reused again with additional ground rubber. Noncondensable gases resulting from the "pyrolysis oil" condensation and recovery system contain high heating value and can be used for combustion needs in the still, or for steam generation. Therefore, this invention makes use of the different components of the distillation process by selecting the gases and the carbonaceous components for combustion and heating needs to generate the pyrolysis oils in high yield. Another use of this invention is the production of zinc, as a result of the reducing atmosphere and high temperature present below the combustion zone.

Other References

• Bureau of Mines, "Destructive Distillation of Scrap Tires", by D. E. Wolfson et al.; Year 1976, pp. 1-19