TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
New CAVD Process Recycles Waste Tires into Profitable
By-productsTAMPA, FL (Aug. 9, 2007) - EarthFirst Technologies Inc.'s Catalytic Activated Vacuum Distillation (CAVD) tire processing process is poised to revolutionize tire recycling, after signing a joint-venture agreement with Orion Industrial Services Corp. to design, construct and commercially roll out its next-generation tire processing facility, known as the CAVD Reactor.
Mining TiresProcessing a 20-lb. tire yields approximately 5.5 to 8.5 lbs. of carbon, 1.2 to 2 gallons of fuel oil, 12 to 16 cubic feet of gas, and 0.36 lbs. of scrap steel, depending upon the type of tire and length of time in the reactor.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, CAVD carbon black has been successfully substituted for Series 700 virgin carbon blacks, which were listed at 71 cents per pound last week, according to industry quotes. In addition, CAVD tire oil has been found to be similar to a #6 Residual
Oil, which had a June nationwide average price of $1.34 per gallon. The gas byproduct can be used to produce electricity, either for use by the operator or for sale into the electrical grid."Rising fuel prices, the energy content of our fuel and the ability to market our CAVD carbon in applications currently dominated by commodity black carbons should make the CAVD process attractive financially and environmentally," says Brad Mierau, EarthFirst's operations vice president. The new technology is set to lead an industry revolution in handling of the 285 million waste tires generated in the United States annually. Tires should no longer be burned or buried because each tire contains more than 5 lbs. of valuable carbon, over 40,000
BTUs of gas and 1.5 gallons of oil. The CAVD process has been certified by Oak Ridge National Laboratory as producing virtually no fugitive emissions. EarthFirst says that a typical CAVD plant designed to handle 48 tons or rubber tire chips per day (4,800 tires) costs between $6.5 million and $8.5 million to build. The plant generates annual revenue of $9 million, by recovering readily saleable carbon black, oil, scrap steel and syngas commodity grade byproducts, In addition, the CAVD Reactor has an estimated return on investment of two years or less.
(Source: EarthFirst Technologies
Inc.) 
