End of life car and truck tyres are a blight on the environment ever since they were invented over a century ago, because until now no means had been found to effectively and profitably recycle them.
Grinding up old tyres to make crumbs or flakes is not a means of recycling tyres as the rubber has not been changed and there is a limit to how much of this material can be used for kindergarten playgrounds and soccer fields and using it as a furnace fuel in Asia creates noxious greenhouse damaging emissions.
As well as the environmental problem caused by dumps of old tyres or illegally discarding them in bushland and waterways, after rain they become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a source of such dangerous diseases as Dengue and Ross River Fever.
However, using a technique known as destructive distillation, Green Distillation Technologies is able to turn this wasted resource and an environmental hazard into high demand valuable raw materials.
Our process is emission free and the recycled oil is used as the heat source for the production process.
The First Green Tyre Recycling Plant
The first Green Distillation Technologies processing plant is located 5 kms north of Warren in Western New South Wales, which is North West of Dubbo on the Oxley Highway, the main trunk route between Brisbane and Melbourne.
The plant occupies approximately 2 hectares of the 21 hectare site, leaving space for expansion and other projects.
This includes synergistic industries and tyre storage within the limits imposed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
GDT originally established a pilot plant in Warren in 2009 to prove the technology and its capacity to build a commercial facility.
At full capacity a commercial plant will be capable of processing 19,000 tonnes per year. This represents approximately 3% of the end-of-life tyres that are generated in Australia every year.
Saving the Environment
Most people are aware that end of life car and truck tyres (ELTs) are a major environmental hazard, but few know the extent of the volume that is generated each year.
A rough rule of thumb is that one end of life tyre (ELT) is generated per head of population, which means that Australia produces over 23 million per year and the United States has more than 250 million.
These sometimes finish up in dumps, either legally or illegally. One such tyre dump in the US has many millions of tyres, while one in the Middle East is so vast that it can be seen from space. Another site in Stawell, Victoria contains an estimated 10 million old tyres. Local media have stated that if it catches fire, the local township will be uninhabitable for 35 years.
Old tyres do not combust spontaneously and have to be ignited to catch fire. Regulations are in place to minimise the problem and to assist fire-fighters but regrettably these are often ignored.
How Destructive Distillation Works
OIL
CARBON
STEEL
GDT originally established the pilot Destructive Distillation plant in Warren, NSW in 2009 to prove the technology and its capacity to build a commercial facility. The plant was a success and GDT plans to expand it.
At full capacity, one GDT commercial plant is capable of processing about 19,000 tonnes per year. This represents approximately 3% of the end-of-life tyres that are generated in Australia every year.
Industry Links
Australian Tyre Recycling Association
ATRA serves the tyre recycling industry in an advocacy role with the public, government and associated stakeholders; and promotes the use of recycled rubber in a range of consumer and industrial products.
Tyre Stewardship Australia
Tyre Stewardship Australia has been formed to implement the national Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme to promote the development of viable markets for end-of-life tyres.
Further Information
For further information on our tyre recycling process and plants, please contact us directly.
