How do tire shredders work?
Tire shredding is a very common method of disposing of or recycling scrap tires. In order to dispose of tires to landfills, they must be shredded into various sized pieces.
The size required depends on the state or region you live in. Tire shredding is also used to recycle tires; shredded tires or tire mulch can be reused to create surfacing on playgrounds, athletic tracks, roads, and more. Many companies are investing in their own tire shredding systems. These companies can then sell the shredded tires and make a profit from them, rather than having to pay someone else to remove and dispose of their tires!
Tire shredders serve an important purpose. Still, you may be wondering how exactly do tire shredders work? It's good to understand the mechanics of these powerful machines; after all, knowledge is power, and it can help you stay safe when shredding tires. And, if you're discussing the benefits of tire shredding, this may help you understand if a tire shredder is what your company needs.
Primary Tire Shredders
Primary shredders are the first machine that scrap tires encounter. These heavy-duty shredders can shred the entire tire into a pile of 2-inch to 6-inch coarse fragments; they can typically process 10 to 30 tons of rubber per hour. Primary shredders can have one or two shafts.
Single-shaft shredders are great for making uniform fragments. Single-shaft tire shredders can be made into 2-inch fragments by inserting the appropriate screen. The screen acts as a filter on a single-shaft shredder, ensuring that only the correct size fragments can pass through. Larger fragments are recut until they can pass through the screen; this feature ensures that each fragment ends up being a similar size, making it easier for you to use them for what you need them to do.
Dual-shaft shredders produce coarser fragments because they typically don't have the screening equipment that single-shaft shredders do. However, the shredding process is faster, and dual-shaft shredders are generally more durable and long-lasting. It can process up to 30 tons of tires per hour, outputting 8-inch coarse fragments. Screens can be installed to produce a smaller output if needed. Whether you choose a single-shaft or dual-shaft shredder really depends on your needs.
The primary shredder is only the first step in tire shredding, as these large pieces are then handed over to secondary shredders for further refinement.
Grinding Mills, Pulverizers, and Mills
Next, the coarse shredding of the tire is placed into secondary shredders (also called grinders). These shredders will refine the tire shreds into pieces that are 1 inch or smaller. Tires contain steel wire that needs to be filtered out, which is also filtered out by the secondary shredders. The grinders can be equipped with different screens to produce a minimum of 0.5 inch.
After the grinders, the clean mulch is placed into a granulator. This high-speed processing machine removes other materials from the rubber, such as nylon and polyester, and produces what is called crumb rubber. Crumb rubber is produced by very finely shredding the tire, with each "crumble" measuring about 3/8 inch in size.
If a finer shredding is required, the final step in tire shredding is a grinding device. The crumb rubber produced by the granulator is placed into a shredder or fine grinder and shredded to 2 mm or less, forming what is essentially rubber powder.
In summary, each step in the tire shredding process further refines the rubber shreds. The primary shredder works by shredding the entire tire into roughly 2-inch-sized chunks. Each machine used after that makes the shreds smaller and also removes any material in the tire that is not rubber. Steel wire, polyester, and nylon are all removed during the tire shredding process, leaving behind pure rubber powder.
Why Shred Tires?
If you are considering purchasing a tire shredder or shredding system, consider what you will be using the output material for. How fine do your tire shredding need to be? Do you simply want to create pieces small enough to be disposed of in a landfill? Are you interested in creating crumb rubber or rubber powder that can be sold and recycled? Do you use the rubber to produce other materials? These questions will help you decide what type of machine you need.
Types of Recycled Tires
TDS, or tire derived shreds, are what you get from the primary shredder. They contain steel, fiber, and rubber and can be used for energy production, fuel additives, or civil engineering uses. Secondary shredders will produce wireless chips, also known as rubber mulch. They can be used for landscaping, playground surfaces, and other engineering uses. Secondary shredders also leave you with scrap steel that can be sold for additional profit.
Crushed rubber is the product of the granulator and can be used on athletic fields, or as part of rubber sealant or asphalt. Finally, crumb rubber is the smallest form of shredded tires and can be used for a variety of purposes. Asphalt, roofing materials, polymers, injection molded products, and more can all benefit from the use of crumb rubber.
Each size of shredded rubber has multiple uses, so there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your company's needs and your ultimate purpose for shredded tires.
