Greenergy advances fuel-from-tires project

London – Greenergy is to proceed with the front end engineering design (FEED) of a project to produce low-carbon transportation fuels from end-of-life tires (ELTs), the UK-based company announced 18 Jan.

Slated for commercial start-up in 2025, the plant is to be located near London, at the Thames Enterprise Park – formerly the site of a major oil refinery – subject to planning approval. 

The project will use Thyssenkrupp thermal treatment technology and Haldor Topsoe’s HydroFlex renewable fuels technology.

The conceptual design was developed in Canada by Green Tire Technology Ltd, and then implemented in the UK in partnership with Greenergy.

In the first phase, the planned facility is to process up to 300 tonnes/day of shredded tire, to produce low-carbon, low-sulphur drop-in fuels that can be blended into diesel and petrol. 

A second hydrotreating unit will have the capacity to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to Greenergy’s statement issued 18 Jan.

The project, it said, “will be the first of its kind” to produce such fuels from waste-tire feedstock, Greenergy, noting that an estimated 1.5 billion ELTs are discarded each year worldwide.

The tires will be pyrolyzed to produce pyrolysis oil that can be catalytically converted into fuel using Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology.

The process also recovers carbon black that can be reused in the circular economy for the production of new tires and other industrial rubber products.

“We have been exploring innovative ways to produce liquid fuels from different waste products to continue to create new forms of development fuels and deliver further carbon savings in the years ahead,” said Christian Flach, CEO of Greenergy. 

This milestone for the project is a key part of our strategy to expand our industry-leading renewables business,” added Flach. “Our customers will continue to benefit from our integrated approach to manufacturing and blending of renewable fuels,” 

The plant is earmarked to be located at Thames Enterprise Park, subject to planning approval and with a view to commence commercial production in 2025.

“We are excited to work closely with Greenergy and their partners to build the world’s first commercial plant to produce low-carbon transportation fuels from waste tires in the near future,” said Fei Chen, SVP clean fuels & chemicals technology, Haldor Topsoe.

Greenergy, which claims to be Europe’s largest manufacturer of biofuels from waste, supplies markets in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Brazil as well as through a joint venture in Bahrain.

The company operates three waste-to-biofuel plants: two on the east coast of England and a third in Amsterdam and is progressing other projects, including those to turn municipal waste into biofuels.