Waste Tire Pyrolysis and Valorization Techniques

Waste tires represent a mounting environmental challenge due to non-biodegradability and high volumes of end-of-life tyres generated globally each year. Pyrolysis offers a thermochemical route to convert scrap rubber into valuable products under anoxic conditions and elevated temperatures, typically between 300 °C and 700 °C. Key process variables such as reactor design, heating rate, residence time and the use of catalysts influence the yields and composition of pyrolysis oil, char and syngas. The resulting pyrolysis oil can serve as a substitute for diesel or chemical feedstock following distillation and upgrading. Solid char may replace commercial carbon black in reinforcing composites or be activated to create high-surface-area carbons for adsorption and energy-storage applications. Syngas rich in hydrogen and light hydrocarbons can be combusted to meet process energy demands. Valorization techniques extend to catalytic pyrolysis for targeted aromatic production, chemical activation for tailored porosity and co-pyrolysis with biomass to improve process efficiency and product quality. Collectively, these advances support a circular economy, mitigate landfill burden and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, offering scalable solutions across the energy, materials and manufacturing sectors.

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Waste Tire Pyrolysis and Valorization Techniques publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in waste tire pyrolysis and valorization techniques across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Pyrolysis: Thermal decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen to yield oil, gas and solid char.

Char: Carbonaceous solid residue from pyrolysis, used as a precursor for carbon black or activated carbon.

Syngas: Gaseous mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and light hydrocarbons generated during pyrolysis.

Carbon black: Amorphous carbon product used as reinforcement in rubber and plastics, obtainable from tyre char.

Activated carbon: Porous, high-surface-area carbon produced by chemical or physical activation of char for adsorption applications.

Catalytic pyrolysis: Pyrolysis process enhanced by catalysts to direct product distribution towards desirable chemicals.

References

1. Sustainable transformation of end-of-life tyres into value-added products using thermochemical processes. Carbon Research (2024).
2. Valorisation of tyre waste from a vulcanisation plant by catalytic pyrolysis – Experimental investigations using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and drop-tube–fixed-bed reactor. Energy Conversion and Management (2024).
3. End-of-life tyre conversion to energy: A review on pyrolysis and activated carbon production processes and their challenges. The Science of The Total Environment (2023).