Title: Optimisation of physical activation process for activated carbon production from tyre wastes

Authors: Zakaria Loloei; Mansooreh Soleimani; Mehrdad Mozaffarian

Addresses: Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, No. 424, Hafez Ave, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, No. 424, Hafez Ave, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, No. 424, Hafez Ave, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: The reuse of waste tyres is of great importance due to problems and damages that they pose to the environment. This paper presents the work conducted in order to study the conversion of waste tyres to activated carbon. Activated carbon was prepared by two step process: 1-pyrolysis under nitrogen and activation with carbon dioxide. Experiments have been conducted based on Taguchi experimental design method with orthogonal arrays (L16). Pyrolysis temperature, pyrolysis holding time, activation temperature, activation holding time, process heating rate and activating CO₂ gas flow rate were optimised as operating parameters. The effect of these operating parameters on the yield and iodine number as two main results of this process has been investigated. Experimental results and analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that activation temperature and activation holding time are the most effective variables, respectively. Optimum conditions for both yield and iodine number have been found which provided 33.22% for yield and 439.86 (mg I₂/gr of activated carbon) for iodine number.

Keywords: waste tyres; activated carbon; physical activation; optimisation; Taguchi methods; tyre reuse; experimental design; orthogonal arrays; pyrolysis temperature; pyrolysis holding time; activation temperature; activation holding time; process heating rate; CO2; carbon dioxide; gas flow rate; iodine number; ANOVA; tyre recycling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2017.082774

International Journal of Global Warming, 2017 Vol.11 No.3, pp.358 - 372

Received: 01 Oct 2014
Accepted: 24 Apr 2015
Published online: 12 Mar 2017 *

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