Waste-based value-added feedstocks from tire pyrolysis oil distillation: defossilization of the petrochemical industry†

The recovery of waste-based feedstocks is an important step in the defossilization of the petrochemical industry and thus in the circular economy for petroleum-based products that have reached the end of their useful life such as end-of-life tires (ELT). This work is part of the European BLACKCYCLE project, and focuses on the distillation performance of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) obtained from an industrial scale plant, ranked at the ninth technology readiness level (TRL-9). The influence of different reboiler temperatures and reflux ratios on the yields and characteristics of the resulting streams was investigated using a pilot scale packed distillation column under industrially relevant conditions, classified within the fifth technology readiness level (TRL-5). The distillation process was shown to be capable of continuously producing a light fraction (LF) with a very high concentration of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) suitable for high value chemicals. Similarly, a heavy fraction (HF) with a high C/H ratio, high flash point and high presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is obtained, making it an attractive alternative to carbon black oil. These results are quite outstanding to accomplish the recovery of waste-based value-added feedstocks in such a way that the carbon embedded in the ELT is retained in the petrochemical industry. This work is committed to the development of green, affordable and practical recycling processes to fill the gap in the production of sustainable chemical commodities, while paving the way to address one of the industry's greatest challenges: the defossilization of the petrochemical industry.