Sustainable Development Goals
PROJECT INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:
Project Status:
Historical reference, decommissioned
Organizations Involved:
Onahama Smelting
Services / Equipment:
Design and Engineering; Component Supply
Klean’s whole tire pyrolysis and gasification technology has commercial roots in Japan reaching back to 1981. Its proposition is direct: feed whole end-of-life tires into a continuous vertical kiln, recover useful fuel and materials, and eliminate the shredding and chipping otherwise required before thermal conversion.
The historical record includes a 1.5-tonne-per-hour installation operating from April 1981, followed by an 8-tonne-per-hour plant completed in June 1986. Recovered fuel was delivered through more than one kilometre of piping for industrial use. Klean now owns all intellectual property and know-how associated with this technology, bringing that engineering heritage into the evaluation and design of new tire conversion projects.
On March 1, 2011, Klean signed an agreement with Sojitz as finance partner to roll out several projects the terms of this financing provided a valuation of $200m attributed to the project portoflio company, on March 11, 2011 the great earthquake stuck Japan, and caused Sojitz to force majeure additional damage to the surround area also resulted in permanent shutdown clsoure of the facility. This was the longest running plant of its kind, and the last standing reference plant for this unique technology, unfortunately it was located in the exclusion zone of Fukushima Daiichi and was fully decommissioned in 2016.
Shredding is a major design decision in a tire conversion project. It brings equipment, electricity demand, wear parts, maintenance and material handling into the cost of preparing every tonne of feedstock. This whole-tire process removes that size-reduction stage.
The advantage extends to steel recovery. Feeding tires whole preserves the reinforcing wire through the front end of the process, avoiding the fragmentation caused by shredding. Steel and carbonaceous residue are recovered at the base of the kiln.
For an industrial fuel application, this creates a compelling question: if the conversion process can accept the tire whole, what value does shredding add? Klean’s experience across both whole-tire and prepared-feed systems helps clients answer that question before committing capital to equipment.
The original system addressed the complete route from tire receipt to recovered fuel delivery. Tires were drained of retained water and conveyed to the top of the vertical kiln. Successive feed chambers and dampers metered the tires into the reactor while separating the feed opening from the process gases.
Inside the kiln, controlled air admission supported partial combustion to provide the heat for thermal decomposition. The historical operating description records that the startup burner was switched off once stable combustion was established. The process then used heat generated within the tire bed to sustain conversion.
At the bottom, a water-sealed discharge arrangement continuously removed steel wire and carbonaceous residue. Feeding, conversion and discharge were integrated into one operating system, with centralized instrumentation controlling equipment sequences and process operation.
Feed isolation, controlled heat generation and reliable solids discharge determine whether a plant can keep processing material. They are central to the engineering know-how Klean brings to a project.
The original technology produced 0.30–0.38 kg of recovered oil per kilogram of tires and 0.5–0.8 normal cubic metres of recovered gas per kilogram of tires. Expressed per metric tonne of tire feed, that is 300–380 kg of oil and 500–800 Nm³ of gas. The oil has heating values of 7,900–10,000 kcal/kg and gas heating values of 2,000–3,500 kcal/Nm³. These are some of results for this technology, giving a tangible basis for understanding its industrial fuel application. The yields and fuel properties for a new installation are established around its tire mix and operating conditions.
The recovery train was designed to make those products usable. Cyclones removed entrained carbon-bearing particles, heat exchangers cooled the gas and condensed oil, and downstream separation and conditioning prepared the recovered streams for handling and use. Carbon was recovered both from the gas stream and from the kiln discharge, alongside steel wire.
The industrial reference went beyond producing a combustible gas at the reactor outlet. The brochure describes recovered oil and gas transported through piping extending more than one kilometre, connecting tire conversion with industrial energy demand. Gas cleaning, condensation control, transport and the receiving fuel system were part of the application.
The first plant’s reported 1.5-tonne-per-hour capacity provided the basis for an improved second plant with an 8-tonne-per-hour capacity, completed in June 1986. That progression represents more than a fivefold increase in rated processing capacity within the technology’s early commercial development.
The record also contains an important commercial lesson: the original brochure reports that the larger plant stopped operating because tire procurement became difficult. Securing sufficient feedstock was decisive even with the conversion equipment in place.
Both parts of that history matter. The installations established an industrial whole-tire conversion route; the supply constraint demonstrated why collection, logistics and contracted volumes must support the selected plant capacity. Klean’s project development work connects those upstream requirements with the conversion process and the market for its outputs.
A developer choosing a tire conversion system is also choosing a feed preparation strategy, an energy balance and a product market. This technology gives Klean a specific whole-tire route to evaluate alongside systems using shredded or granulated feedstock.
For projects serving industrial heat demand, the opportunity is to align a simpler feed preparation route with useful oil and gas recovery. For projects prioritizing other product specifications, the equipment and upgrading requirements may lead to a different configuration. Klean’s ownership of the technology and its underlying know-how allows that choice to be made around the client’s commercial objective.
1. Commercial roots reaching back to 1981.
The historical record documents development from 1.5 to 8 tonnes per hour and recovered fuel delivery over more than one kilometre.
2. A whole-tire route changes the project economics.
Removing shredding eliminates a processing stage and its associated equipment, electricity and wear-part requirements.
3. Klean owns the technology and know-how.
That knowledge connects tire handling, continuous conversion, fuel recovery and industrial integration with the feedstock supply needed to support the investment.
Before selecting a shredder or reactor, establish how your tires can become products your customers will buy. Klean can evaluate the whole-tire route against your feedstock, target capacity, site and industrial energy requirements.
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Tell us your tire types and dimensions, available volumes, location and intended product markets. Where the project inputs are defined, the next step is a paid Detailed Equipment Quotation (DEQ), progressing through a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and then Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) as the project advances.
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ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
This case study presents selected historical results and technology experience. Detailed engineering and confidential project information are addressed through an authorized engagement and appropriate confidentiality arrangements.
This project addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by considering the goals and associated targets illustrated by the WBCSD’s Tire Industry Project (TIP). TIP provides a framework for action that outlines impactful pathways for the tire sector to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To learn more about how Klean’s approach, solutions, and technologies contribute to advancing the SDGs, please review the report “Sustainability Driven: Accelerating Impact with the Tire Sector SDG Roadmap”.
