We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to browse this site you agree to our use of cookies. More info.

In an article recently published in the open-access journal Materials, researchers investigated the potential of an industrial waste, waste tires, towards the production of a viable adsorbent material that can be useful in the treatment of wastewater through the removal of organic pollutants. 

Study: Potential Valorization of Waste Tires as Activated Carbon-Based Adsorbent for Organic Contaminants Removal.  Image Credit: sandsun/Shutterstock.com

The resaerchers also demonstrated the generation of activated chars from waste tires via pyrolysis and activation techniques.

The rapid development in the automobile sector over the last two decades has resulted in a massive number of waste tires. Tires have a diverse composition, making their material and/or energy recovery a lucrative business. Moreover, tires are a promising non-fossil energy source due to their high calorific value (28-37 MJ kg-11) and low mineral content.

Thermal recycling of waste tire materials using pyrolysis might be considered the most convenient approach to mitigate the negative consequences of waste management on the environment and to produce fuel and other solid products. Chars obtained from waste tire pyrolysis could be utilized as adsorbents for applications in gas storage or pollution management.

Picture of the ground rubber feedstock. Image Credit: Frikha, K et al., Materials

The activation method, which combines heat and an activating substance, is frequently employed to improve the textural and chemical properties of carbon compounds. Waste tire-derived activated carbon (AC) has been investigated as adsorbents in both aqueous and gaseous conditions. However, sparse reports are available in the literature assessing the environmental impact of preparing AC from ground rubber feedstock from the perspective of a life cycle assessment. The production of AC from waste tires not only promotes the preparation of materials for water treatment but also assists in the management of waste tires.

In the present study, researchers investigated the pyrolysis of ground rubber tires in the first stage utilizing non-isothermal and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis techniques. Ground rubber with a mean particle size of 1.5–4 mm was employed as the char precursor feedstock. The effect of operating factors on pyrolysis product yields, such as the heating rate and pyrolysis temperature, was studied. For improved char recovery, a largescale fixed-bed reactor was used to carry out the slow pyrolysis of ground rubber tires. Four pyrolysis temperatures were chosen based on the thermogravimetric data.

To determine the correlations between pyrolysis temperature and char qualities, the generated chars were examined in terms of the mineral contents, textural features, structural properties, and proximate analysis.

TG and DTG curves for the pyrolysis of the ground rubber-based chars. Image Credit: Frikha, K et al., Materials

Subsequently, a sequence of activated chars was synthesized in the second step, commencing with pyrolytic chars using chemical and/or physical activation procedures. The impact of these treatments on the chemical, textural, and physical characteristics of the generated carbon materials (char and activated chars) was elucidated. A small-scale batch reactor setup was used to evaluate the adsorption properties of the activated chars in aqueous media, using atrazine and ibuprofen as sample adsorbates.

In this study, activated carbon was successfully generated from the waste tires by pyrolysis and activation methods and used as organic micropollutant adsorbents for atrazine and ibuprofen. The thermogravimetric examination of a ground rubber tire revealed that the pyrolysis temperature and heating rate had no qualitative effect on the thermal deterioration of the ground rubber sample.

However, they were found to have a significant impact on the product (char) yields; higher temperatures encouraged the synthesis of more gases and liquids, whereas lower temperatures preferred the formation of more char (solid fraction). The pyrolysis of pulverized rubber samples at various heating rates was mostly complete by 550 °C, with the highest char output obtained at 450 °C at a 5 °C min-1 heating rate.

Chemical activation was observed to be an effective way to minimize the inorganic compounds found in the ground rubber tires while also contributing to a significant increase in the porosity and surface area of the chars. Chemically activated chars were found to have a high aqueous adsorption capacity of 208 mg g−1 for atrazine.

The physicochemical characteristics of the tire-derived char samples did not appear to be particularly sensitive to the pyrolysis temperature, according to the char characterization studies. Since the pyrolytic chars had significant ash content and limited surface areas, activation treatments were required to increase their adsorbent capabilities. Activated char analysis revealed that the activation procedure resulted in an increase in the pore volume, surface area, and surface alkalinity, as well as a reduction in the zinc and sulfur contents.

SEM images and elemental distribution maps of the ground rubber-based chars. Image Credit: Frikha, K et al., Materials

In conclusion, this study examined the effect of the activation procedure on the porosity, structure, and surface structural properties of the resulting activated chars. The activated chars had a higher adsorption capacity than those described in the literature, according to the experimental results obtained for atrazine adsorption.

However, the adsorption capability of ibuprofen on activated chars was found to be lower than the previously reported values. Among the various activation methods studied in this article, chemical activation generated char with a significantly developed micro/meso-porosity and increased surface area, resulting in superior adsorption capabilities.

Frikha, K., Limousy, L., Claret, J. P. et al. Potential Valorization of Waste Tires as Activated Carbon-Based Adsorbent for Organic Contaminants Removal. Materials 15(3), 1099 (2022).  https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/3/1099

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

Cheriyedath, Susha. (2022, February 02). Waste Tires Used to Produce Adsorbent Material for Wastewater Treatment Applications. AZoM. Retrieved on October 10, 2022 from https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=58095.

Cheriyedath, Susha. "Waste Tires Used to Produce Adsorbent Material for Wastewater Treatment Applications". AZoM. 10 October 2022. <https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=58095>.

Cheriyedath, Susha. "Waste Tires Used to Produce Adsorbent Material for Wastewater Treatment Applications". AZoM. https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=58095. (accessed October 10, 2022).

Cheriyedath, Susha. 2022. Waste Tires Used to Produce Adsorbent Material for Wastewater Treatment Applications. AZoM, viewed 10 October 2022, https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=58095.

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

AZoM spoke with staff scientist for application development, Dr. Chengge Jiao of Thermo Fisher Scientific, about the use of a focused ion beam without gallium to move towards damage-free TEM specimen preparation.

In this interview, AZoM talks to Dr. Barakat from The Reference Lab, Egypt, about their water analysis capabilities, their processes, and how Metrohm instruments play a large part in their success and quality.

Dave Cist, Roger Roberts and Rob Sommerfeldt

In this interview, AZoM talks to Dave Cist, Roger Roberts, and Rob Sommerfeldt from GSSI about the Pavescan RDM, MDM, and their ground penetrating radar (GPR) capabilities. They also discuss how this can aid the asphalt production and laying processes.

This product profile from ABB features the TALYS ADP300, a dual-channel wet process analyzer.

ROHAFORM® is a lightweight flame retardant particle foam for industries with stringent fire, smoke and toxicity (FST) level requirements.

The Intelligent Passive Road Sensors (IRS) can accurately detect road temperature, water film height, ice percentage and much more.

This article provides an end-of-life assessment of lithium-ion batteries, focusing on the recycling of an ever-growing amount of spent Li-Ion batteries in order to work toward a sustainable and circular approach to battery use and reuse.

Corrosion is the degradation of an alloy caused by its exposure to the environment. Corrosion deterioration of metallic alloys exposed to the atmosphere or other adverse conditions is prevented using a variety of techniques.

Due to the ever-increasing demand for energy, the demand for nuclear fuel has also increased, which has further created a significant increase in the requirement for post-irradiation examination (PIE) techniques.

AZoM.com - An AZoNetwork Site

Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2022