slightly ot, was re: chemicals

[David J Bockman]

I found this article to be of enormous interest:

Garbage into Oil!

[zxcvbob]

I've wondered for years why old tires were not ground up, the steel removed with magnets, and the rubber mixed with crude oil at the refineries.

Regards, Bob

[Warren]

I can't find the reference, but in the last couple of weeks I came across a story about a guy who took old tires, and built a fence in a rural area with them, and ran into all kinds of legal troubles because of the laws regarding the "disposal" of tires. I wonder how often recycling efforts die not because the technology isn't there, but because the laws are inflexible, and the folks who could change them don't care to change them?

[GrumpyAboutSpam]

Does anyone else besides me think that Warren is the next unibomber in the making?

[Jan Flora]

In Europe, I've heard that they're mixing ground up old tires in asphaltic concrete for road surfaces, with really good results.

Jan

[Frogleg]

This page has a good deal of general information on tire recycling.

seems that while they *can* be reused/recycled, many of the processes are just too expensive to be practical. Although, like certain 'oil recovery' operations, when the price of an end-product rises, some methods *do* become worth investing in.