- Do you shred the tyres before processing?
- No, they are processed whole.
- How long does the process take?
- One cycle of up to 500 kgs of tyres takes around 55 minutes.
- How much oil is produced?
- Each completed plant can process about 19,000 tonnes of tyres per year and deliver approximately 7.3 million litres of oil.
- What do you do with the steel?
- It is returned to tyre manufacturers for use in new tyres, which provides a significant saving over the price of new steel.
- What do you do with the carbon?
- Carbon is the world’s most widely used industrial chemical and is almost exclusively derived from fossil fuels. Carbon is used in products as diverse as brake pads and water filters, pharmaceuticals and dynamite, cosmetics and soil enhancement, rubber reinforcement and steel manufacturing.
- What tyre sizes can you process?
- All sizes up to and including ‘super singles’ (1.2 metres diameter weighing approximately 70kgs).
- Who pays?
- Tyre disposal attracts a levy paid for by the consumer at the retail outlet when a new tyre is purchased. Under Tyre Stewardship Australia conditions, the retailer is then obliged to utilise the services of a TSA-accredited collector and a TSA-accredited recycler. The levy is equitably distributed amongst these 3 parties.
- Is GDT TSA-accredited?
- The application has been lodged. But the TSA is unable to formalise it until GDT reaches commercial production.
- What are the emission levels from the GDT process?
- We have been in the habit of describing our process as ‘emission free’. That refers to the process of breaking tyres down into oil, carbon and steel.
- All 3 commodities are retained within a dedicated enclosed space. Oil is condensed from the vapours produced; carbon and steel are separated and packed. In that regard, the process is, in fact, emission-free.
- However, the process is conducted through heat. Heat is generated by burning the oil we produce which delivers an exhaust stream. That exhaust stream is cooled and washed so that any unburnt oil is condensed and retained within the system. Any particulate matter is collected and removed, then sent to the carbon collection area. The exhaust gas that is left is emitted into the atmosphere and testing has shown this to be well below EPA limits. Oil burners of the type we use are available off the shelf around the world and are in use to heat large open spaces, warehouses, hot houses, etc.
- How much oil is produced and how much used to fire the system?
- A ‘typical’ GDT plant will produce 8 million litres of oil per year. From that production volume, less than 4% is kept and used to provide heat to the system.
- How do I invest in GDT?
- At present, GDT is an unlisted public company. For details on how to invest, please visit the Investment page.