SBIR Phase I: Improved Technology for Recycling Tires

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop technology for a commercially feasible process for processing scrap tires into high quality crumb rubber. Current technology requires a high capital investment, high energy costs, high maintenance costs, high transportation cost, and a processing plant that, to be economically feasible, must have a high throughput. The research objective and anticipated outcome is the development of a technology that economically recycles tires in smaller, more energy efficient, facilities that can be located closer to the tire source and produce a high grade of crumb rubber. The research objective will be achieved by developing innovative methods to treat the tires and to separate the steel belts from the rubber prior to grinding. The broader impact of this research will be to provide a method to economically recycle tires at a throughput of approximately two hundred thousand tires per year. Society will benefit from the proposed tire recycling facility that would encourage the recycling of tires in less populated areas, reducing the cost of transportation, and reducing the energy required to process scrap tires.