NEW DEVELOPMENT ON TYGRE
February 2011 brings new important developments for TyGRe. Significant achievement have been gained and the first phase of the project has been completed.
The SiC powder produced in laboratory by TyGRe process was successfully sintered in test manufacts (pellets and disks). The ceramic powder obtained from waste tyre was processed using different sintering methods at COMETAS, ENEA and IMEC.
As planned, additional tests with positive results were made on pyrocarbon provided by SICAV and by producing ceramic powders different from SiC.
The results demonstrated that TyGRe SiC can be used for industrial purposes.
Considering that the main goal of the project is to provide a sustainable solution for waste tyre recovery by producing high added value ceramics, this remarkable achievement is an important step in the consortium life.
In parallel, the assessment of the sustainability of the scenario including SiC production from waste tyre is in progress: the screening Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing studies are almost completed, as well as the first step of the Social LCA study, i.e. the choice of the social indicators to be investigated.
The whole process was settled in bench scale: process parameters for each part of the whole process were defined and all the units (feedstock preparation, gasification, carbothermal reduction, gas treatment and energy production) are under planning; the prototype plant is under construction.
First projections on possible commercial sectors attractive for TyGRe were made by ETRA, in view of the future market application.
A new Website for ETRA has been built and is operational: www.etra-eu.org. This site, in addition to ETRA general activities, is announcing events and publishing news in the field of tyre recycling and proposes a direct link to the TyGRe project for the dissemination of the results.
