Canadian firm Ellsin Environmental Ltd. is receiving government support in its implementation of technology that will enable scrap tires to be converted into usable by-products by means of a microwave process.
The patented reverse polymerization technology was developed over a period of more than 15 years by another Canadian company, Environmental Waste International (EWI), and Ellsin has contracted EWI to build a demonstration system based on the EWI process. To assist, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation announced in December it is investing CA$2 million assist in the construction of a test plant.
Once environmental approvals are gained, funding for this project will be provided under the NOHFC Enterprises North Job Creation Program, a scheme that invests in private sector projects that hold the potential to benefit Ontario. "Supporting new technologies and creating green jobs is the right thing to do for our economy and our environment,” commented Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty. “Projects like this one put Ontario at the cutting edge of green tech, while ensuring that used tires are managed in an environmentally responsible way."
The EWI process uses microwaves in a nitrogen chamber to break tires down into the same components as achieved by pyrolysis – oil, steel and carbon black – yet it is said to accomplish this at a far lower temperature (between 250C and 300C). The pilot plant will have the capacity to handle approximately 900 scrap tires per day. Once the process is proven, Ellsin plans to build plants with the capacity to process 6,000 to 7,000 tires a day in a number of countries.
Ellsin’s business plan involves the company’s establishment as a tire processor under Canada’s Ministry of the Environment guidelines utilising the EWI technology, the construction of a new building, the establishment of a carbon manufacturing operation and the development of an alternative energy facility. This system, says Ellsin, will generate its own electrical power through the use of ultra-clean micro-turbines which, after providing the necessary electrical power directly to the prototype pilot recycling machine, could then feed the remaining electrical energy production into the power grid. (Tyres & Accessories)
