This project proposes a new concept of volume reduction of waste tires, systematically and efficiently recovers the useful materials contained in the waste tires, and further upgrades to higher-grade products, so that this traditional industry can be upgraded to new field of applied materials. We convert waste tires into high-value products, through the simple hydrothermal method with desulfurization reaction and impurity dissolution, in order to facilitate the next step of treatment, and then choose solvent method or heat treatment recovery. The carbon black and rubber in the waste tires maintain their original physicochemical properties to a wide range of applications. At the same time, the waste tires with high sulfur content can be directly converted into sulfur-containing activated carbon for adsorption technology. The recovered carbon black has a particle size ranging from 10 nm to 100 nm with an average of about 60 nm. The values of specific surface area, ash content and pH of the recovered carbon black are 25 m2/g, <0.5%, and 6.3. That indicated the properties of the recovered carbon black are similar to those of the semi-reinforcing carbon black of N660 and N770. The purity of the recycled rubber is high, and the natural/artificial rubber is the main body, the fixed carbon is 15%, and the ash is almost 0%. Sulfur-containing activated carbon has a high adsorption capacity for Cu2+ and Pb2+, and is derived from the high affinity of sulfur for lead and copper. At the same time, sulfur-containing activated carbon has a commercial potential for decontamination of gaseous elemental mercury and liquid dyes. The cost estimate indicates that the payback period is approximately 2.5 to 40 years, depending on the range of prices that can be obtained for the quality of the product. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of spent tires, our proposed routes convert the waste into useful materials with high added value.

Hydrothermally converted, Scrap tire, Mercury vapor