Sustainable Development Goals
Organizations Involved:
Klean Industries, GreenCarbon Bioenergy, multiple tyre recyclers, and pyrolysis processing firms
Services:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Supply Chain Management, Packaged Solutions, Component Supply
The Challenge:
India has over 1.4 billion people, and it suffers from one of the world’s worst pollution crises, which causes massive rates of disease and early death. Much like China, India has been going through a significant economic change over the past several decades. With the substantial increase in energy costs, the Indian industrial sector is searching for low-cost, abundant energy. Like many developing Southeast Asian countries, India has found energy locked inside high-calorific waste streams, such as waste plastics and scrap tires. Since 2010 there has been explosive growth in the installation and use of low-grade Chinese tyre pyrolysis plants that are cheap, quick to install, and highly polluting.
In 2019, a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that in 19 states of the country, there are 637 Chinese tire pyrolysis units, out of which 270 do not comply with the CPCB rules. As a result of ongoing investigations, the CPCB reported that out of 637 tyre pyrolysis units, 251 units are complying, and 116 units are closed.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has instructed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to manage the import of unwanted tyres for use in the pyrolysis industry that produce incredibly high levels of pollution that also have negative impacts on the health of the workers who are involved in the operation of these low-grade pyrolysis plants.
As a result of the growth of scrap tyre imports to India to fuel these pyrolysis plants, India's Hazardous Waste Management Rules have implemented further restrictions on waste tyre imports to regulate the location of such units in light of the carrying capacity of the area in which these plants operate. Restrictions are on scrap tyre imports to ensure that India does not become a dump yard for highly polluting hazardous waste material.
The CPCB has stated that once scrap tyres are imported, they are either reused in vehicles, even though most are unsuitable for road use and hazardous, or processed in low-grade pyrolysis plants to recover cheap oil. Chinese pyrolysis plants across India have recently come under serious review from several states for failing to meet environmental pollution standards.
While these low-cost pyrolysis plants provide cheap fuel oil for use in brick manufacturing facilities and other industrial energy applications, the use of the char has not been addressed due to the lack of technical know-how and proper pyrolysis operating procedures to produce a product acceptable for reuse by the manufacturing sector. This leads to char being landfilled, burned, or disposed of into retirement, creating an environmental disaster that poisons waterways and the air people breathe.
The Solution:
In 2015, Klean Industries decided to enter the developing pyrolysis industry in India to help solve some of the increasing pollution issues created by the lack of technological know-how associated with using low-grade pyrolysis systems. A critical part of the value proposition regarding tyre pyrolysis plants is upgrading pyrolysis-derived products, regardless of the tyre pyrolysis technology used. Upcycling the pyrolysis char product requires specialized processing know-how and key technology to achieve the desired results.
The solution to producing a consistent Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) product is directly linked to:
These three specific components are crucial, and if any one part of these processes is not done correctly, then any solution presented will not work as designed. This combined integration of the three steps above makes a solution work. This process also needs operator training with qualified engineering people.
As a result, the KleanTeam designed and installed 3 tyre pyrolysis char upgrading plants in India and has further supplied 2 other projects with Klean Industries' equipment that was owner installed for a total of 5 processing plants specially designed for tyre pyrolysis char upgrading.
India is a very challenging environment in which to work, and based on experience, it is best done with a knowledgeable engineering partner. Our team is now working with many parties in India to continue deploying Klean's technology solutions as we endeavor to significantly improve the quality and environmental aspects of India's tyre pyrolysis and recovered carbon black sectors.
The Outcome:
The result is the significant reduction of environmental pollution and the upcycling of tyre pyrolysis char into a high-grade commercial filler product that is used in off-road tire production, rubber automotive parts manufacturing, and plastic masterbatch applications (approximate volume):
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