A US tyre recycling company has increased its commitment to Australian technology by doubling the number of plants they are proposing to build.
The original agreement provided for ten tyre recycling facilities across the United States, but this number has now increased to fifteen with construction of three key ones to commence as soon as the agreements and Government approvals are obtained.
GDT’s Chief Operating Officer Trevor Bayley, said that although the cost was in the vicinity of $US150 million, they couldn’t be specific at this time as there are many different variables yet to consider in terms of the cost of obtaining key components for each the plant locally, site selection and so on.
“However, our policy is for the joint venture company to construct the plant at cost as we want to maintain our interest in the plant and provide on-going input to future operations and also be able to implement new technology improvements as our research and development discovers new ways of improving our performance.
“This is in contrast to other tyre recycling plant providers, who can supply an off the shelf plant for say $US35-40 million, but incorporate their profit in the cost of the plant and then walk away.
“These are typically European or US designed plants that use crumb rubber as feedstock and produce a low quality liquid hydrocarbon, self-styled as ‘Rubber Derived Liquid’ and a carbon product that needs further processing if it is to achieve a value of sufficient size to make the enterprise profitable.
“By contrast, we obtain high value oil, carbon and steel, which is in demand by world markets at international market prices,” Trevor Bayley said.
He said that the US, like most countries around the world, has a significant end-of-life tyre disposal problem and generates 250 to 300 million end-of-life tyres a year.
In contrast, Australia reaches 25 million, but world-wide the number of end-of-life tyres is increasing fast in India and China and the world total of EOL tyres generated a year is in excess of one and a half billion.
“In light of this burgeoning environmental disposal problem our approach provides a recycling solution as we turn a world problem into valuable and saleable materials.
“Every plant we build, with six modules and operating 24/7 will process a mix of 19,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres per year. Each typical 10 kg car tyre will yield 4 litres of oil, 4kg of carbon, 2kg of steel, a 70kg truck tyre will provide 27 litres of oil, 28 kg of carbon, 15 kg of steel and 4 tonne oversize mining dump truck tyre will yield 1.6 tonnes of carbon, 0.8 tonne of steel and 1500 litres of oil.
“Each plant is expected to need a permanent workforce of fifteen and require more people during the construction phase and have a local economic multiplier effect with more people required to collect and deliver the tyres to the plant.
“As well as the United States, our Australian developed world-first tyre recycling process has attracted strong international interest which has resulted in a recent Memorandum of Understanding for five processing plants in South Africa valued at more than AUD$50 million.
“In Australia we have our original plant at Warren, in Western New South Wales which we are upgrading to full production capacity and have all the Government approvals in place for another in Toowoomba, as well as plans for other facilities in Gladstone, Wagga, Geelong, Elizabeth and Collie, Western Australia.
“In view of the world-wide interest in our technology it is no wonder that we have also welcomed visitors to our Warren plant from almost every country on the planet including Japan, Thailand, Canada, the United States, Middle East, Pakistan and India to name a few.
“What we have done is a world breakthrough and we believe that in time our technology will become the preferred means of recycling end-of-life tyres throughout the world,” Trevor Bayley said.
Released for Green Distillation Technologies by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations (www.drpr.com.au)
For further information please call or Dennis Rutzou on 0411 10 888
