Recyclatech asked CPI to collaborate and support their microbiologic devulcanisation technology, following proof of concept, by ascertaining whether the process would work on a large scale. The company‘s own team worked alongside scientists at CPI, occupying space within one of the CPI laboratories, and demonstrated that effective commercial full-scale devulcanisation can be achieved, and that the process was ready for commercialisation.
Recyclatech uses tyres that have been ground to a specific size and uses a patented technology to remove sulphur from the rubber elastomer. The rubber can then be resold to rubber product manufacturers for incorporation into high value products. By working alongside a team of CPI scientists, led by Project Manager, Santhana Krishnan, Recyclatech has been able to run the full-scale process treating batches of 2 tonnes in 10m3 reactors to achieve desulphurisation. Recyclatech is now at the stage of commercialising the process and there are plans to create the company‘s first full-scale plant for the production of recycled (devulcanised) rubber.
Santhana Krishnan Project Manager, CPI says „There is a huge market for recycled rubber, as it‘s more environmentally friendly and cost effective than new rubber. Recyclatech came to us to help take the process to the next stage of development, to prove that the tyres could be recycled on a large scale. This was certainly a big challenge for us as the scale was significant, but we knew we had the resources, capability and expertise to work with Recyclatech. Large scale production has proved successful and the team at Recyclatech are happy with the results. The next step for the company is to commercialise the product and build a demonstration plant.“
Recyclatech is an SME research and development company based in the UK, which specialises in projects linked to the new and renewable energy sector. Its core business is to recycle (devulcanise) waste rubber, which can then be sold back to automotive tyre manufacturers. The batch enzymatic bioprocess takes 2 days to devulcanise rubber crumb.
(dw)
