Mechanism of Cryogenic Shredding Process of Scrap Tire

There are about 41% (by weight) of scrap tires were pulverized to produce rubber powder and granules in the tire recycling industry of Taiwan. However, the reuse of the by-products, steel and fiber, of the scrap tires still needs to be improved. It is difficult to remove the remaining rubber on the surface of steel or fiber. This problem reduce the availability for further reuse of steel and fiber. In addition to the improvement of magnetic, gravity separation techniques or carbonization process, using cryogenic shredding process to separate rubber and fiber (or steel) had been used as another alternative. Cryogenic shredding process for scrap tires showed many advantages, the objective of this paper is to explore the mechanisms for the cryogenic shredding process of scrap tires. Cryo-SEM is used to investigate the topographic information, in-situ, from room temperature to -195$^{\circ}C$ . One square inch shredded tire chips are prepared for SEM study. The percentage of the shrinkage of rubber is also estimated, ca. 6.7%. Mechanisms of cryogenic shredding effects on the tire chips are discussed. The proper practice of cryogenic shredding process far scrap tires is also suggested.