ASR recycling

When an end-of-life vehicle is dismantled and shredded, the metals are recovered and recycled — and a complex, mixed residue is left behind. That material, automotive shredder residue (ASR), was long destined for landfill. Today, pyrolysis offers a route to recover energy and material value from it.

What ASR Is

After a vehicle is shredded and the ferrous and non-ferrous metals are separated, what remains is ASR: a heterogeneous mix of plastics, rubber, foam, glass, textiles, and residual metal fragments. Because it is a blend of many materials with widely varying properties, ASR has historically been difficult to process, and landfilling became the default. Yet its plastics and rubber content represent embedded energy value that conventional disposal simply discards.

Why ASR Is a Recovery Opportunity

The composition of ASR is precisely what makes it unattractive for traditional recycling — and interesting for thermal conversion. The carbon-rich plastic and rubber fractions can be broken down under heat to yield a liquid oil fraction, a solid char, and gas. This is the logic of applying pyrolysis to shredder residue: rather than separating ASR into its many components, the process converts its carbon-bearing content into useful products.

Klean’s automotive shredder residue system is designed specifically around the realities of this feedstock.

Outputs and Value

Pyrolysis of ASR can produce a fuel oil that offsets fossil-derived fuels, along with a char that carries carbon value and a non-condensable gas that can be used to provide process heat. The precise output slate depends on the feedstock composition and process conditions, but the underlying shift is consistent: a material treated as a disposal cost becomes a source of recoverable products.

For shredder operators, this changes the economics of the residue stream. It reduces the volume sent to landfill and the associated gate fees, while creating outputs with resale potential.

Feedstock Considerations

ASR varies from region to region and even from site to site, depending on the vehicle mix and the shredding process. Moisture, ash content, and the proportion of glass and metal fragments all influence how the material behaves in a thermal process. This is why feedstock characterisation and a feasibility study matter before committing to a system.

The broader principle also applies to other mixed waste streams prepared as refuse derived fuel: consistent, well-understood feedstock is the foundation of reliable output.

A Shift in End-of-Life Vehicle Handling

As regulation tightens around landfill disposal and end-of-life vehicle recycling targets rise, ASR recovery moves from niche to necessary. Thermal conversion offers shredder operators a practical path to turn a residual liability into recovered value — provided the technology is matched to the actual composition of their residue.

Learn More:

• Klean’s automotive shredder residue system
• What is pyrolysis?
• Refuse derived fuel (RDF) explained
• Feasibility studies for thermal conversion projects

Turn Your Shredder Residue Into Recoverable Value

ASR no longer has to be a disposal cost. Pyrolysis converts its carbon-rich plastic and rubber content into fuel oil, char, and process gas — cutting landfill volumes and gate fees while creating outputs with resale potential.

Ready to see what your shredder residue stream is worth?

Contact Klean Industries about ASR recovery » GO.