Thermal Treatment

Thermal treatment is the broad family of processes that use heat to convert waste — and for a mixed, hard-to-separate material like automotive shredder residue, it is where the realistic processing options live. The family spans incineration, pyrolysis and gasification, each with a different goal.

The spectrum is defined by oxygen and temperature. Incineration burns the material with excess oxygen for heat and ash. Pyrolysis holds oxygen out and captures oil, gas and char. Gasification adds a controlled oxidant and drives toward syngas, with an ash that can be melted to slag.

From Destruction to Recovery

The options sit on a gradient from destroying the material to recovering from it. Incineration makes the waste disappear as energy and ash; gasification with ash melting recovers the energy, the metals and the minerals as separate, saleable outputs. That gradient is what separates disposal from resource recovery.

For shredder residue specifically — energetic, mineral-bearing and metal-containing — the recovery end of the spectrum is where the material’s value is actually captured rather than released to the stack.

Choosing Along the Spectrum

The right choice depends on what the operator wants back. A project that only needs heat can stop at incineration; a project that wants metals, aggregate and power should look to gasification with ash melting — the configuration Klean’s reference plant runs.

Learn More About Thermal Treatment of ASR

• Automotive Shredder Residue Gasification Plant
• Solid Waste Recycling
• What Is Gasification?
• Feasibility Studies

Partner With The KleanTeam to Recover, Not Just Dispose

Safe. Clean. Profitable. One Proven Partner.

Klean Industries works with operators to choose the thermal treatment that recovers the most from shredder residue — with a reference plant proving the full-recovery gasification-and-melting route at scale.

Klean’s Key Advantages:

• ✅ An operating ASR gasification reference plant treating up to 20 t/h of shredder residue.
• ✅ Thirty-plus years engineering commercial gasification and waste-to-energy plants.
• ✅ 3 recovered carbon black (rCB) plants built in India over the past 2 years.
• ✅ KBR added Klean’s proprietary TyreNova technology to its IP portfolio.

Ready to move your residue toward recovery?

Speak with a Solid Waste Expert at Klean Industries » GO.