Uses For End Of Life Tyres

Material Recycling

Shred/Granulation
 • End-of-life tyres can be shredded to increase the volume of tonnage being transported, as a first step towards granulation, or for use in several applications.
 • The tyres are fed into a shredder and in most circumstances , the steel and textile are not removed, but may include the additional process of material separation.
 • Shredded/granulated tyres have a variety of uses including sports tracks, childrens' play areas, and equestrian arenas.

Energy recovery
There are several controlled energy recovery methods which are environmentally sound.
 • End-of-life tyres represent an alternative supplementary non-fossil fuel.
 • End-of-life tyres provide the same heat energy commonly achieved by coal.
 • Whole or shredded end-of-life tyres can be used.
The addition of end-of-life tyres is environmentally safe and does not release additional emissions in the atmosphere of sulphur oxides or nitrogen oxides when appropriate emission control devices are properly installed and maintained. One common use is in cement kilns.

Cement kilns
Whole or shredded end-of-life tyres can be used as an alternative, supplementary fuel in cement kilns, depending on size and method.
The high operating temperature in the kiln allows for complete combustion of the tyres and oxidation of the steel beads without adversely affecting kiln operation.
Therefore, the steel reinforcement does not need to be removed. The addition of end-of-life tyres is environmentally safe and does not produce additional emissions into the atmosphere.

Sapphire Energy Recovery Statement
Tyres, whole or chipped, can no longer be landfilled (Environmental Legislation) so other uses for used tyres must be found. The methods of extending and disposing of end of life tyres is through their uses as a material for surfaces such as children's playgrounds or sports surfaces. Some tyres can be remoulded and eventually re-used on road vehicles and some are exported for reuse. None of these methods however, provide an ultimate solution because the products are still subject to wear and tear and will require eventual disposal in the future.
Other challenges to tyre recycling include:
 • Used tyres arise at over 20,000 collection points all over the UK
 • Storage of used tyres requires space and can present potential environmental hazards – thus collection must be made daily.
 • Due to their shape and size tyres are difficult to handle - making collection much more expensive
Large investments and high volumes are needed to make processing economic. To date the level of investment required by Sapphire and the cement industry to establish the infrastructure for Sapphire's services is in excess of £15 million.