Development of advanced Carbon-based compounds from recycled mining tires

货物和人员的运输对世界各地每个社会的运作都是必不可少的。除了海运和铁路运输外，所有其他运输方式都需要轮胎。因此，据估计，仅在北美和欧洲就产生了近500万吨废汽车轮胎。汽车轮胎的回收现在是可能的。令人遗憾的是，采矿、林业和重工业车辆上使用的“非道路”（OTR）轮胎的回收利用迄今为止还不可行，这是因为它们尺寸大，结构复杂，橡胶化合物坚韧。 Kal Tire Mining Tire Group（KT-MTG）是一家加拿大全资公司，目前是采矿轮胎销售、服务、维修和翻新领域的全球领导者。2014年，KT-MTG率先开发了能够回收各种形状、尺寸和成分的汽车、飞机以及工程机械轮胎的地面破碎工艺。回收过程的结果是柴油燃料，钢丝和炭黑（CB）。此NSERC-CRD赠款申请寻求资金，以支持一个为期3年的研发合作，对来自KT-MTG回收过程的炭黑进行升级和再利用。来自不列颠哥伦比亚省大学（UBC）和KT-MTG的研究人员发现了将合法CB高价值升级为以下产品的机会：1）电池阳极用碳，2）气凝胶热绝缘体用纳米结构碳，以及3）电解阳极/电极用碳。 CB的成功升级和在三种高价值产品中的任何一种中的利用对KT-MTG回收操作具有直接的经济影响。然而，更重要的是，开发再生炭黑的创新工艺和市场将对环境产生深远的影响（即，在世界范围内的矿山回收储存或燃烧的OTR轮胎）和加拿大就业市场（即，KT-MTG计划开设10 - 15个工程机械轮胎回收中心。此外，回收炭黑的其他应用几乎是无限的，因为依赖于获得高纯度碳的工业的丰富性。

Transportation of goods and people is essential for the function of every society world-wide. With theexception of marine and rail transport, every other mode of transport requires vehicles to have tires.Consequently, it is estimated that nearly 5 million tonnes of waste automotive tires are produced in NorthAmerica and Europe alone. Recycling of automotive tires is now possible. Regrettably, recycling of"off-the-road" (OTR) tires used on vehicles in the mining, forestry and heavy industries until now has not been feasible, due to their large size, as well as their sophisticated construction and tough rubber compounds. Kal Tire Mining Tire Group (KT-MTG), a wholly-owned Canadian company, is currently the world leader inthe sale, servicing, repair and re-treading of mining tires. In 2014, KT-MTG pioneered the development of agroundbreaking process capable of recycling automotive, aircraft as well as OTR tires of all shapes, sizes andcompositions. The outcome of the recycling process is diesel fuel, steel wire and carbon black (CB).This NSERC-CRD grant application seeks funding to support a 3-year R&D collaboration on upgrading andre-purposing of the carbon black originating from KT-MTG's recycling process. Researchers from theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC) and KT-MTG identified opportunities for high-value upgrading of theraw CB into: 1) Carbon for battery anodes, 2) Nanostructured Carbon for aerogel thermal insulators, and 3)Carbon for electrolysis anodes / electrodes. Successful upgrading of CB and utilization in any of the three high-value products has an immediate economic impact on the KT-MTG recycling operation. More importantly, however, developing innovative processes and markets for the recycled carbon black will have profound benefits for the environment (i.e., recycling of stockpiled or burned OTR tires at mines world-wide) and the Canadian job market (i.e., KT-MTG is planning to open 10 - 15 OTR tire recycling centres). Further, additional applications of the recycled carbon black are virtually limitless, due to the abundance of industries relying on access to high-purity Carbon.