CARBON PROCESSING
CARE Members visit Carbon Processing Limited
Monday 24th February 2003
The CARE group held one of its regular team meetings in Baldock so that its members could take the opportunity to visit one of their sponsored research projects.
The project team from Carbon Processing Limited, are operating a demonstration plant based in Letchworth. They demonstrated a Pyrolysis unit, which was treating shredded vehicle tyres and creating Carbon Black as its main output. High quality Carbon Black makes up approximately 40% of the units’ output, along with 40% volatile oils and 20% gasses. In the demonstration unit, the gasses are currently “flared off” but they could, together with the volatile oils produced, be utilised to provide the heating and power used by the unit as well as providing a substantial energy export potential.
The plant has been live since September 2002 and shows very promising results. It is able to produce significant quantities of high quality Carbon Black, which is a material with a high market value that can be recycled back into the production of tyres and other auto rubber components.
This could be a significant contributor to meeting both the ELV targets and provide a route for tyres that will be banned from landfill. It also displaces the production of traditional carbon black that involves the inefficient burning of high sulphur fuel oil, saving approximately 10 tonnes of CO2 for each tonne displaced. I.e. for a 10,000 tons per annum (tpa) commercial plant this would save 100,000 tpa of CO2.
CARE Chairman Peter Stokes (Volkswagen Group UK Ltd) said “This project is exactly the type of initiative CARE is delighted to be associated with. The commercialisation is based around a high value marketable product with substantial environmental benefits, and is not based around a “gate fee” unlike far too many of the projects that CARE is asked to be involved with”
In addition to CAREs’ contribution the project received Craft Funding. Tony Weatherhead from Ford UK has been the project sponsor acting on behalf of CARE.
Shredded tyre input.
Left to right: Dr Terry Rampling, David Herd (Carbon Processing Ltd), Tony Weatherhead (Ford, CARE), Peter Stokes, (Volkswagen Group UK Ltd, CARE Chairman)