{
    "title": "Oil from Recycled Tires",
    "inventor_name": "Denis Randall",
    "publication_year": 2016,
    "device_name": "Destructive Distillation Tyre Recycling Process",
    "goal": "Convert end-of-life car and truck tyres into usable oil, carbon and steel while reducing waste and emissions.",
    "problem_addressed": "Massive stockpiles of discarded tyres that pose fire, health (mosquito breeding) and environmental hazards.",
    "concept_summary": "The process loads whole tyres into an evacuated chamber, heats them to induce destructive distillation (pyrolysis). The tyre material breaks down into a carbon-rich solid, a combustible gas mixture and condensable oil. The oil is collected and can be blended with diesel or refined further; the carbon is sold as a high-grade solid; the steel rims are recovered. The recovered oil is also used to supply heat for the process, making it effectively emission-free.",
    "detailed_description": null,
    "category": "Thermal Systems",
    "principles": [
        "Pyrolysis (thermal decomposition)",
        "Destructive distillation",
        "Condensation of volatile hydrocarbons",
        "Combustion of gaseous products for heat"
    ],
    "scientific_domains": [
        "Chemical Engineering",
        "Mechanical Engineering",
        "Environmental Engineering"
    ],
    "mechanisms_of_action": [
        "Heat-driven breakdown of tyre polymers",
        "Separation of oil vapour and condensation into liquid oil",
        "Combustion of produced gases to generate process heat",
        "Physical separation of carbon solid and steel components"
    ],
    "materials": [
        "Tyre rubber (natural and synthetic)",
        "Carbon (solid)",
        "Steel",
        "Recovered oil (hydrocarbon liquid)",
        "Water vapour (used in secondary gasification)"
    ],
    "energy_sources": [
        "Recovered oil (used as fuel for heating)",
        "Combustible gaseous fuel produced during pyrolysis"
    ],
    "inputs": [
        "End-of-life tyres",
        "Heat (external or from recovered oil)",
        "Water vapour (optional for secondary gasification)"
    ],
    "outputs": [
        "Recycled oil",
        "Carbon solid",
        "Steel",
        "Combustible gaseous fuel"
    ],
    "claimed_performance": "30 % reduction in NOx emissions when tyre oil is blended at 10-20 % with diesel; a 10 kg car tyre yields ~4 L oil, 1.5 kg steel and 4 kg carbon; a 70 kg truck tyre yields ~28 L oil, 11 kg steel and 28 kg carbon.",
    "experimental_evidence": "QUT mechanical engineers tested 10 % and 20 % tyre-oil diesel blends in a turbocharged diesel engine at four loads (25-100 %); results showed a 30 % NOx reduction and no loss of performance. GDT pilot plant in Warren, NSW has been operating since 2009 and is producing commercial quantities of oil, carbon and steel.",
    "replication_status": "Pilot plant operating commercially in Warren, NSW (since 2009); additional plant planned for Longford, Tasmania pending approvals.",
    "keywords": [
        "tyre recycling",
        "destructive distillation",
        "pyrolysis",
        "bio-fuel",
        "waste-to-energy",
        "oil blending",
        "carbon recovery",
        "steel recovery"
    ],
    "related_technologies": [
        "Pyrolysis reactors",
        "Condensation systems",
        "Fuel blending technology",
        "Waste-to-energy plants"
    ],
    "controversy_level": "low",
    "confidence_score": 0.9,
    "practicability_score": 0.8,
    "fringe_score": 0.1,
    "evidence_strength": 0.7,
    "risk_score": 0.2,
    "trl_estimate": 7,
    "source_urls": [
        "https://www.qut.edu.au/news/news?news-id=112276",
        "http://www.gdtc6.com/",
        "http://www.gdtc6.com/tyre-recycler-determined-longford-plant-go-ahead/"
    ],
    "organizations": [
        "Green Distillation Technologies (GDT)",
        "Queensland University of Technology (QUT)"
    ],
    "applications": [
        "Diesel fuel blending",
        "Heating fuel",
        "Feedstock for automotive or aviation jet fuel",
        "Carbon material for industrial use",
        "Steel recycling for tyre manufacturers"
    ],
    "limitations": [
        "Requires high-temperature processing infrastructure",
        "Oil may need further refining for certain applications",
        "Economic viability depends on scale and tyre feedstock logistics"
    ],
    "open_questions": [
        "Long-term engine wear and performance with higher tyre-oil blend ratios",
        "Full life-cycle environmental impact of the process",
        "Cost competitiveness versus conventional waste-to-energy or recycling methods"
    ],
    "red_flags": [],
    "evidence_quotes": [
        "We found a 30 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxide which contributes to photochemical smog, and lower particle mass which means fewer problems for emission treatment systems.",
        "A recycled 10kg car tyre yields 4 litres of oil, 1.5kg of steel and 4 kg of carbon.",
        "We have been operating the pilot plant in Warren western New South Wales since 2009 and the upgrade to full production will see it capable of processing 19,000 tonnes, or a mix of 658,000 car and truck tyres per year."
    ]
}