End-of-life Tyres as an Alternative Fuel (TDF) in Cement Kilns

End-of-life tyres are a challenging type of waste since they are difficult to shred and are expensive to treat and get rid of. However, tyre-derived fuel (TDF) is an extremely good alternative to the traditional fuels used in cement kilns, like oil, coal, and petroleum coke. Here's how TDF can be used for heating cement kilns, and the solutions it can provide.

The calorific value of tyre shred is high and it has nearly the same heat value as oil.

But what other benefits are there in utilising tyre shred as a fuel?

1.  Utilising TDF saves significantly in fuel cost as traditional fuels can be replaced with cheaper tyre shred that has almost equal heat value to oil and is even 25% more effective than coal.  
2. Compared to the typically used refuse-derived fuel (RDF) or solid recovered fuel (SRF), there is less variability in tyre-derived fuel (TDF), which makes the burning process easier to manage. 
3. The number of end-of-life tyres is growing globally and at the same time, many countries are banning the dumping of tires in landfills. Thus, there is a huge amount of precious raw material—which many consider problematic waste—available basically everywhere.
4. Using TDF in cement kilns reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides NOx and costs since less urea is needed. In addition, emissions of particulate matter are lower.

 Tyre shred is an excellent alternative fuel in cement kilns. And there is a feasible solution for producing it.

Four reasons why TANA Shark is an excellent machine for producing tyre-derived fuel (TDF) from end-of-life tyres

 The high-torque TANA Shark shredder is perfect for processing end-of-life tyres and producing TDF suitable for use in cement kilns. These four characteristics make it the perfect choice for this task:

1.  Optimal particle size: You can easily adjust the particle size of the tire shred to the required size within a 50–500 mm range. The optimal particle size is dependent on the feeding method, the mixture used, and the technology of your cement kiln. The particle size produced can be adjusted by changing the screen and adjusting the number of counter-knives. With the TANA Shark’s side door, this can be done in minutes. Watch a video how the side door operates
2. Good shred constitution: A TANA Shark removes steel from tyres very effectively and the small number of steel remnants is good since steel is a source of ferrous sulfide needed in cement production process. Read how a TANA customer doubled the amount of separated steel and resale price.
3. Smoother shredding process: Typically, tires are shredded in three phases and with several machines. With a TANA Shark, you can do everything with one machine in only two phases. Read how one of our customers gained huge savings by moving from three-step tyre shredding to two-step shredding. They got a faster process, higher quality and fewer expenses. 
4. Unique versatility: While a TANA Shark is great at shredding tyres, it can also shred other waste materials. One of our customers running a materials recovery facility (MRF) shreds wooden poles and uses a mixture of tires (85%) and wood poles (15%) as an alternative fuel in a cement kiln. This gives another benefit: the shredding of wooden poles cleans the shredder and no water is needed to reduce friction during shredding.

Video: Shredding end-of-life tyres to 80mm (3") particle size with just one pass with metal wires separated

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAH1BnfaQQ8&feature=youtu.be