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The “Vulcan mind meld” — once the sole territory of dedicated “Trekkies,” this pop culture reference has become a phrase widely used by many Americans. Even people who have never seen the original Star Trek series throw the phrase into casual conversation to describe an intimate spiritual experience, a meeting of minds so intense that it can only be supernatural.
For key players in the business of recycled tire rubber flooring, the “devulcanization” of rubber has another meaning entirely. Devulcanization is a popular method of recycling rubber vehicle tires and other non-biodegradable rubber products. In order to make new products, rubber tires must have their rubber, metal, fabric, and other parts removed and separated. Recycled tire rubber is now prepped to be refined into crumb rubber or readied to be devulcanized.
It can then be devulcanized, making them malleable enough to form into new rubber products, like recycled tire mats.
To understand devulcanization, let’s start by first summing up the vulcanization process. Vulcanization is a chemical process that transforms natural rubber into a longer lasting and more resilient material. Natural rubber sap is treated with durations of intense heat combined with sulfur and peroxides (Wikipedia). The resulting material is a tough rubber used in rubber flooring products because it can handle inclement weather and other abrasive environments.
Devulcanization, as the name implies, reverses the vulcanization process in order to recycle and reuse the material as reclaimed flooring. There are several ways to devulcanize rubber. Some methods use chemicals to undo the process, while others use ultrasonic energy, microwave technology, or microorganisms to reverse the chemical changes made to the base natural rubber (Wikipedia).
Chemical devulcanization, for example, requires a mixture of solvents and ground up rubber, or crumb rubber.
The mixture is set at a specific temperature and pressure which chemically severs carbon-sulfur and sulfur-sulfur bonds within the rubber (Wikipedia).
The efficiency of rubber devulcanization differs depending on the method used. For most materials found in reclaimed flooring made from rubber, the overall goal of devulcanization is to restore vulcanized rubber to its original, natural form. Then, the devulcanized rubber can be reintroduced into the manufacturing process and potentially re-vulcanized at a later date. Reclaimed rubber mats and flooring are a popular way to reintroduce used rubber products back into consumer products.
In many ways, devulcanization is the process of returning to nature — one of the foundations of the eco-friendly movement. By reusing vulcanized rubber, recycled tire mats and flooring participate in the process of waste conservation and recycling that helps to shape the rubber flooring industry. Due to the nature of devulcanization and the durability of rubber vehicle tires, recycled tire rubber flooring is one of the most resilient flooring options available today.
Products made from recycled tire rubber are durable, weather resistant, and ideal for most abrasive applications.
For Star Trek fans and environmentalists alike, rubber devulcanization is an extremely beneficial process. What other manufacturing processes save waste and nullify extraneous costs in quite the same way? Rubber is one of the most versatile materials on the market.
As devulcanization is refined and the rubber industry develops, recycled tire rubber flooring will come to the forefront as some of the most useful reclaimed flooring products. With the help of devulcanization, recycled tire mats can offer durable, eco-friendly floor protection at affordable prices, far less expensive than natural (tree derived) or synthetic rubber products.
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Little did Dale Goetz know that his idea for weaving treads from old tires into mats to prevent cattle injuries in high-slip areas at the family’s feedlot would eventually become the footing for Double D Family Mat Shop as well.
He established the mat shop in 1995, at first hand-cutting used tires to make anti-fatigue mats for work areas. After a time, things went so well that they leased the feedlot and set up the mat shop at Park, Kansas, where they now have three children working in the business.
The idea of the Alberta Bound Beef trip surfaced two years ago in the thick of the pandemic. A few…
Today they use a machine Goetz invented to strip off the treads precisely and quickly, which are then woven together by hand and fastened at the joints, ends and sides with stainless steel hardware to produce sturdy mats that protect livestock from injury in handling areas.
The sidewalls are now a mere byproduct given away as weights for silage covers.
The standard Double D Cattle Mat is a heavy-duty mat woven from steel-belted treads for high-use areas where sure footing not only prevents injuries, but has a calming effect on cattle. A common use is in front of headgates where slips and falls are most apt to happen but operations use them in all sorts of places — alleys of all shapes and sizes, tubs, bud boxes, loading/unloading ramps and in sales rings, says daughter Christin Merwald, who looks after the marketing side of the family business.
The mats were lasting about a year at a packing plant handling 4,000 head per day; however, the company has been able to double the lifetime by sorting out the heaviest treads for packing plants. Merwald estimates a standard Double D Cattle Mat would last about 10 years under normal use at a feedlot and at least 15 years in a cow-calf operation.
Neil Thauberger, cattle manager at JBS Lakeside Feeders, Brooks, Alta.
, hasn’t had to replace any of the Double D Cattle Mats which they installed 3-1/2 years ago this April. The mats in their hospital barns run 30 feet down straight alleys to the headgate, while the ones in the processing barns stretch 20 feet splitting each way coming out of the chute and for another 15 feet outside the door. Cleaning is as easy as rinsing them down with the firehose at the end of each day.
“All JBS yards use Double D Mats because we follow best practices for beef quality and care and comfort to ensure the best for our cattle,” Thauberger says. “This is a better system by a long shot for the welfare of the cattle than what we had before — rebar for traction and sandboxes for cushioning coming out of the chute.”
The proof is in the noticeable reduction in lameness since installing the mats.
Double D offers a lighter-weight mat made from baler belts that is often the choice for use on scales and in stock trailers. These mats are fastened with stainless steel flat-head carriage bolts and were initially designed for farms with hogs or other small-hoofed livestock.
Customers now include packing plants, beef and bison feedlots and ranches, dairy, hog and other small-livestock farms, auction markets and veterinary clinics in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
Both styles come in ready-made sizes of three or four feet wide by, six, eight, 10 or 12 feet long, or six-by-six feet, but most mats are custom made to fit customers’ needs for specific shapes and sizes, Merwald explains. There’s also the option of having three-inch wide flatiron worked into the weave at the ends to help with lifting if necessary or bolting to the floor if desired.
As our issue went to press the company was looking for a dealer in southern Alberta to help customers in Canada measure and order mats to fit their needs.
In the meantime, Canadians can contact the Kansas shop directly for guidance on measuring. Some operations mail in plastic patterns of the exact shapes they need.
Merwald says many people who dropped by the family’s booth at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference viewed the mats as a novel idea.
A few felt the mats would also work well in winter as the woven pattern wouldn’t be as slick as the normal surface in their holding areas under snow and freezing cold temperatures.
She says the interest at the Alberta show mirrors an overall trend the family has noticed in recent years. Between new research findings on animal welfare and consumer pressure, producers and packers seem more willing to invest in mats nowadays.
Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University supports the use of the mats for high-traffic areas such as scales, unloading areas and processing facilities.
While most of the large beef-producing businesses in the U.S. have adapted to using mats as a best practice for slick areas in their facilities, Merwald says their sales of Double D mats are now trickling down to mid-sized and small operations.
For more information visit www.ddfamilymats.net/ or call 1-888-377-2879.
Recyclers recycle old tires into many different things.
While many products, such as tire-derived fuels and rubber-reinforced asphalt, you may not see, some end products, such as rubber mats, are common household and business items. Rubber mats are useful in many situations. When mats are made from recycled tires, they also help the rubber industry become more sustainable. nine0003
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Some companies make rubber mats made from tree sap. Other companies, such as rubber recycling plants, turn millions of worn tires abandoned by motorists into rubber powder. This recycled powder is then melted down and baked into mats of various sizes.
When you think of a rug, you might think of a black or straw rug that says "Welcome" in large block letters. Manufacturers make mats from nylon, coconut fibre, fabric, rubber and many other materials, offering consumers a wide choice.
Recycled tire mats, however, are incredibly useful and durable.
The rubber allows manufacturers to put "Welcome" signs and company logos on the mats. Recycled rubber mats can be made into colorful rugs. Otherwise, natural black has the advantage of not looking as dirty after you've dried your shoes on a muddy or slushy day. nine0003
In 2001, a study for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that “every year in the United States, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children aged 14 and under with playground injuries ". One of the main causes of injury is falling from playground equipment to the ground. Rubber mats help reduce the risk of injury by creating a soft surface under swings, gyms and slides. Thicker shapes form recycled playground tire mats to provide extra cushioning. nine0003
Swimming pools are also places where a significant proportion of injuries occur. The smooth concrete surfaces next to the pool become slippery when wet, creating a significant hazard for the elderly and running children.
Rubber mats make the surface softer. In addition, textured rubber turns slippery pavement into a walking surface with much more friction.
However, covering the entire pool with rubber mats may be overkill. Instead, identify areas that are most prone to accidents and place mats there. These may include:
Wrestlers need a soft and forgiving surface for safe training and competition. Rubber mats are ideal for wrestling studios. They are tough enough to allow wrestlers to find the grip and resistance they need in wrestling, yet forgiving enough to minimize bruising, concussions, and broken bones. Styrofoam mats are also a popular wrestling surface. However, due to the nature of the material, rubber has a longer lifespan than foam and often costs less. nine0003
Children's centers It's hard to have too many rubber surfaces in a kindergarten. Toddlers are constantly falling to find their balance, while older kids love to chase each other in games like tag, duck, duck, geese, and follow the leader. If children play on concrete, scraped hands and bruised knees often stop the fun once it's started. Rubber mats made from recycled tires are a cheap and effective way to provide a safer daycare environment. nine0003
Standing on soft surfaces for long periods of time is less tiring and annoying than standing on hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt or tiles. Recording studios are the perfect place for rubber mats as people often stand for hours. Rubber mats also dampen echoes that can interfere with music playback.
Working in the kitchen also involves long hours on your feet. Rubber mats can make tough environments more manageable, as well as keep chefs and waiters from slipping when accidentally spilled.
Don't forget to put rugs under the sink, as these places can get wet and slippery. In the kitchen, the risk of slips and trips must be taken seriously, as dropping a pot of boiling liquid or a razor-sharp knife can have dire consequences. nine0003
Whether at home, at work or at the gym, rubber mats make all activities safer and more comfortable. If your rubber mats are made from recycled tyres, they are also good for the planet. It is estimated that almost 70 percent of natural rubber production is used in the tire industry. The use of this rubber not only reduces the pressure on tropical ecosystems where rubber trees grow, but also reduces the amount of garbage filling landfills. Simple rubber mats can make more of a difference than you think! nine0003
Video: Recycling tires into fuel in the Crimea.
Utilization of tires into fuel in the Crimea. Alternative fuel (oil) from tires in the Crimea.
Environmentally friendly, cost-effective, waste-free tire recycling.
Waste car tires can be recycled to produce: synthetic oil, scrap metal (can be used as a knitting wire), solid fraction (carbon black that can be a sorbent or pigments). nine0069 Costs: 6 kW of electricity per day to run the electric motors and 20 liters of water to compensate for evaporation. From one ton of tires (used technical rubber) you can get: 400 kg of synthetic oil, which can be dispersed on conventional equipment + combustible gas + cord metal of very good quality. In Crimea, from 2 to 5 thousand tons of used tires are formed per year.
During the processing of tires, a liquid-fuel fraction is obtained, the content of which is up to 80% oil products. In the open air, on an open fire, the oil obtained from the processing of old tires burns without fading. nine0069 The sorbent obtained during the disposal of rubber goods in this way allows you to collect oil from the surface of the water.
The sorbent completely neutralizes the oil film.
What is the process of recycling tires in the Crimea. Old tires are cut in the workshop, then fed into the crucible, which is hermetically sealed and fed into the reactor. From the reactor at a high temperature, the tires turn into gas, after which they condense. The gas is pumped out, and you can work on your own gas.
There are no emissions and no smoke when using this tire and rubber recycling plant. Minimal harm to the environment. nine0069 The installation is highly profitable, creates jobs and solves some of the environmental problems. The installation gives gas savings of about 500 cubic meters. in year. Potential consumers from such production: enterprises of the oil refining complex, gas processing enterprises, wastewater treatment enterprises.
Video: Tire recycling in Novosibirsk.
Russia 1. What can be done from an old car tire? Recycling old tires Novosibirsk.
nine0069 Old tires, tires and rubber goods can be recycled into rubber roads, playgrounds, sidewalks.
Novosibirsk produces about 9 thousand tons of tires per year.
A metal cord is cut out of an old tire and removed by an automatic device. Without a cord, the old tire is ground with a shredder. When recycling tires, a textile cord is also obtained, which can serve as either a heater or a sorbent (for example, in the oil industry).
The main product is crumb rubber, which is used to make surfaces for sports fields. nine0003
Video: Recycling old tires in Belarus, Grodno. Ecological Alternative. Recycle.by
Final product: high quality granulates and powders.
The metal cord is removed, the tire is crushed by a shredder until crumb rubber is obtained.
The metal cord from the tire is removed (pulled out) with a metal hook on the hydraulic cylinder. The tire without a cord goes to a two-rotor shredder.
With two shredder shafts, the rubber is roughly ground and goes to the conveyor. Next comes the process of finer grinding with a single-shaft grinder. nine0069 The raw material is eventually ground into crumbs and passes through a magnetic separator, on which all metal inclusions are removed. After cleaning from textiles, the crumb once again passes through a magnetic separator.
The purified raw material goes to sintering, where rubber mats, slabs for sports tracks and playgrounds are obtained.
Video: tire recycling abroad (abroad). Discovery Science.
The tire gets a second life in the form of rubber mats. Every day, the factory processes 15,000 tires. The conveyor feeds the old tires to the sink, they are washed and sent to the grinder. The chopper has 2 rows of large teeth. The shredder can process about 1000 tires per hour. nine0069 The tires are then shredded a second time.
With the help of huge magnets, the metal is separated from the rubber. The metal subsequently goes to another factory for remelting. Other tire elements such as fiberglass and nylon are also separated by the screen.
Refined rubber pieces are fed into the grinder tank, where they are more intensively ground to a powder fraction. The powder is laid out on a mold 7 meters long and more than 1 meter wide. After filling, the form goes to the press, where the powder is subjected to temperature for 30 minutes. The mat in the machine is removed from the mold and cooled by jets of water for several minutes. The mat is subjected to vibration to remove excess water. nine0069 Tire recycling product: rubber mats, mudguards for cars and trucks, hard rubber rings.
In 12 hours, the factory produces about 12,000 rubber mats from recycled tires.
Video: Factory testing of a tire recycling line for the Kemerovo region.
eco-tire.ru
Double-sided machine for removing the bead ring of an old tire - automatic process of extracting the cord from the tire.
Hydraulic shears - used for cutting tires. The process is semi-automatic. A tire from a truck, for example, needs to be cut into 3-4 pieces. Pre-cutting is necessary to prepare the tire for transport on the conveyor. nine0069 The main crusher of the ZPS 1200 line produces quite small pieces from very large tire pieces. The crusher looks like a mesh drum.
Crusher type 600 (two-shaft) - coarse tire grinding. It doesn’t even cut, but grinds.
Chopper HM480 (2 pcs) in combination with a vibrating screen (3 pcs) + 2 pcs of magnetic separators + 5 conveyors (conveyors).
The magnetic separator for extracting the extracted metal has the form of a conveyor with a magnetic drum, which removes the extracted metal from the stasis. nine0069 Complex of mills with an air separator for the extraction of textiles.
Video: Children's playgrounds and the road to knowledge are laid out with old tires in Israel. 1 Channel.
Tire recycling as building material. The second life of obsolete tires. Tire chair. The pool is made from old tires and clay. A fence made from old tires with beautiful round windows. Old tires have been added to the asphalt surface to reduce noise and increase practicality. 2000 tires are held together by a ton of clay from which the school is made. The building does not heat up, as the tires transmit heat poorly. nine0003
Video: Tire Recycling in America (USA - United States) . Discovery Channel.
The truck tire is cut, removing the top layer from it, which will be used. The tire tread is in the greatest demand because it does not contain any impurities (textile or metal cord). The tires are clamped in the machine and all irregularities are removed with a knife (the tire is polished).
