Maxlink tyre recycling solutions are designed on the 3 principles of “Eco-friendly, Safe & Save” – meaning technology that must be clean and friendly to our environment, provides a safe workplace, and includes a high level of automation and user-friendliness to keep operating costs to the lowest.
Using Maxlink’s eco-friendly technology, scrap tyres can be recycled 100% with no residual waste and minimal emission to the atmosphere. The tyres are first completely broken down into rubber crumbs, steel and nylon fibres; and the rubber further processed in the patented MSD-10 continuous screw devulcanizer. Water used in the process constitutes less than 5% of the feedstock and is recirculated, whereas in other systems, water content may be higher than 25% and will be discharged after each production batch, causing runoff of toxic oil and heavy metals into our ground water. Sulphides released from the devulcanizing process are trapped in gas scrubbers to prevent noxious smoke escaping into our atmosphere. This clean and green solution has been adopted by the Chinese government in the world’s largest rubber consuming market as the technology of choice to replace the older systems.
The Maxlink continuous screw devulcanizer operates safely at atmospheric pressure as opposed to the conventional dynamic devulcanizer which requires 2 to 4 MPa (20 – 40 Bar) pressure to work. Rubber crumbs are also water-cooled to around 60°C before being discharged from the screw devulcanizer, as opposed to older systems where the rubber is still at high temperature when discharged and fires from self-combustion may occur.
Maxlink solutions are designed with a high degree of automation and energy-saving to reduce manufacturing costs and consumption of valuable resources. To quote an example, the Maxlink continuous screw devulcanizer requires only one person to operate compared to 3 or more for others. It uses electromagnetic induction for heating, thereby lowering energy consumption and maintenance.
The refining line in Maxlink’s system configuration is also highly efficient, reducing manpower requirement by 60 – 75%.
Car tyres which may outnumber truck tyres by more than 3 times, are less desirable for making reclaim rubber but could be processed together with polyolefin into bitumen modifier pellets used in preparing rubberized asphalt binder for asphalt concrete pavements.
There would be a Maxlink technology to suit each type of scrap tyres, and they provide cost-effective solutions while maintaining high standards of safety and eco-friendliness, in accordance to Maxlink’s ESS principles.
