Steam activation of pyrolytic tyre char at different temperatures

Activation of tyre char has been carried out using steam as activation agent, and the effect of temperature and activation time has been studied. The char samples used in the activation have been obtained by continuous flash pyrolysis carried out in a conical spouted bed reactor at 500 °C. The activation has been carried out at 850 and 900 °C in a fixed bed reactor. During the process, a mesoporous structure is developed, with a predominant pore diameter of around 500 Å and BET surface areas above 500 m2/g for both the temperatures studied. Moreover, sulphur content significantly decreases during activation and activated carbons with low sulphur content are obtained. This reduction in content may be the key for the industrial application of tyre-derived-carbons, either as active carbons or as carbon blacks for tyre manufacturing.