An evaluation of discarded tires as a potential source of fuel

The destructive distillation of rubber tire samples was studied by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, combustion calorimetry, and mass spectroscopy. The decomposition reaction was found to be exothermic and produced a mass loss of 65%. The products from the distillation process were a solid residue with a heating value of about -30 MJ/kg, a liquid with a heating value of about -40 MJ/kg, and a combustible gas of undetermined heating value. The gas evolution curves which were obtained indicate that a variety of organic materials are evolved simultaneously during decomposition of the rubber polymer.