Pyrolysis of tyres: A comparison of the results from a fixed-bed laboratory reactor and a pilot plant (rotatory reactor)

A comparison is made of two similar processes run on different scales. On one hand, tyre pyrolysis experiments were run in a fixed-bed laboratory reactor, designed to allow for the separation of the solid, liquid and gas fractions. On the other hand, experiments were run in a tyre pyrolysis pilot plant with a rotatory reactor, where solid and gaseous fractions were obtained. The solid fractions from both processes were subjected to chemical analyses (proximate, elemental and of calorific value) and thermal analyses, with no significant differences found in the analyses of the two solid fractions. The gas fractions from both processes were analysed by gas chromatography, the results showing small differences in composition and calorific value, because of the different operating conditions of each facility, mainly the heating ramp and residence time.