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Case

Recycling of waste to material

Waste management

Scrap tyre recycling facility in Berlin, Germany

13. August 2009

Solution provider

Genan

Operating 6 fully automated recycling plants around the globe, Genan is the largest tyre recycler in the world - with the capacity to process 400,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) a year.

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At the end of the '70s, the idea of establishing a plant for the recycling of scrap tyres was born. The automotive industry was booming and the waste problem with very slowly degrading scrap tyres in landfills and nature started to be addressed.

During the '80s the idea was further developed, and in 1990, the first plant for recycling of scrap tyres became a reality in Viborg, Denmark. Through the '90s the plant was continually improved and adjusted accordingly. The input capacity of the Danish plant is 35,000 tonnes of mixed scrap tyres (passenger car, van, truck, tractor and big earth moving tyres).

In 2003, on the basis of the knowledge and experiences gained from the Danish Genan plant, Genan opened a large  recycling plant in Oranienburg on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. The input capacity was 65,000 tonnes a year.

The Genan scrap tyre recycling concept is unique. In a highly technological process, developed and optimized through practical experience over more than 20 years, all kinds of scrap tyres, may it be from passenger cars, vans, trucks, tractors or large earth moving machinery, are separated into the original elements: rubber, steel and textile.

The technology is completely automated. No human hand touches the tyres from start to end, and this ensures a consistent and high quality of the output. Other suppliers of recycled rubber are found in the marketplace, but none are able to produce a uniform, clean and consistent product like Genan.

The output from a Genan plant consists of 67% rubber powder and granulate, 18% steel, 14% textile and 1% waste, which primarily stems from impurities like sand and stones absorbed by the scrap tyres.
99% of the output is therefore recycled for good use in new applications which are able to substitute virgin materials.

The rubber is used in numerous applications, currently the most important being modification of asphalt and bitumen, infill in artificial turf and industrial rubber applications.

The steel is remelted in large steel works. The textile has so far been incinerated for energy recovery but is currently going through a comprehensive product development which will lead to final products within the noise and heat insulation industry.