Conversion of waste rubber to the mixture of hydrocarbons in the reactor with molten metal

Scrap tires are the source of renewable energy and raw chemical products for the refinery, petrochemical and rubber industry. The results of thermal degradation of waste rubber performed in a new type of a tubular reactor with the molten metal bed are presented in the paper. The melting and degradation processes were carried out in one apparatus at the temperature 390–420 °C. The time of the described conversion process is shorter than the time of catalytic cracking or pyrolysis performed in classical batch or continuous flow reactors. The process was carried out in the inside of the molten metal bed and on its surface. The problems encountered with: the disintegration of wastes, the heat transfer from the wall to the particles, cooking at the walls of the reactor, and mixing of the molten volume of wastes are significantly reduced. Three products: the gaseous (below 14 wt.%), liquid (over 41 wt.%) product and solid residue were obtained during the degradation of waste rubber. The streams of gaseous and liquid products were analyzed by gas chromatography. The gaseous stream contained hydrocarbons from C2 to C8 and the liquid product consisted of hydrocarbons C4–C24. Over 75 mol% of liquid hydrocarbons mixture was the fraction C4–C10. The obtained liquid product may be used in petrochemical and refinery industry for fuel production.