RISE Project finds that oil from end-of-life tyres can be used as fuel

RISE has discovered that pyrolysis oil extracted from end-of-life tyres can be used as fuel, in a study together with Enviro and Ragn-Sells.

The project set out to evaluate three different approaches for upgrading pyrolysis oil to higher grade products, with a special focus on co-upgrading fuels together with fossil raw materials in refinery processes.

Linda Sandstrom, Project Manager at RISE, said: “We’re currently at a stage where we’ve demonstrated the fuel can be produced from tyres and that pyrolysis oil is a feasible way for the petrochemical industries to reduce their consumption of fossil oils.”“For the project, we characterised and upgraded pyrolysis oil through various refinery technologies. At RISE Energy Technology Centre’s laboratory in Pitea, we conducted pilot-scale experiments where we compared upgrading pure fossil oil to oil with twenty per cent pyrolysis oil. The findings showed that there were no significant differences between the two, and that pyrolysis oil is excellently suited to fuels.”

The next stage of the study is to arrange a continuation of the project in order to verify the findings, as well as to prepare to commercialise the concept with pyrolysis oil in fuel.

Sandstrom said: “We’re looking for a refinery that’s willing to accept pyrolysis oil as a raw material for production and thereby start reducing its consumption of fossil oil. Once we’ve shown that the concept can be commercialised and that it’s profitable, the general hope is for the industry to be willing to participate and develop it further.”

For Enviro, the goal of the developments is for pyrolysis oil to be priced on the basis of its value to the petrochemical industry as a fuel as well as from the perspective of sustainability.

Thomas Sorensson, CEO of Enviro, said: “We’re extracting about 500 kilos of pyrolysis from one tonne of tyres by means of Enviro’s patented technology. With a plant that processes 30,000 tonnes of tyres annually, that’s approximately 14,000 tonnes of oil per year available for the market. In other words, the financial potential is substantial. We’re looking forward to continuing the project and to explore the environmental and commercial benefits further.”