Titan's tire recycling venture opens updated

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta (April 1, 2016) — Titan International Inc.'s Titan Tire Reclamation Corp. (TTRC) subsidiary has begun operating at its Fort McMurray location in the Canadian oil sands and disclosed plans to open similar facilities in Australia and Chile.

TTRC uses thermal reactors to transform scrapped mining tires into oil, steel and carbon black, providing a solution to one of the biggest environmental problems these mines face. Until now, recycling scrap industrial mining tires was not possible because of their size and density, Titan said.

TTRC's process originally was developed by a company called Green Carbon L.L.C.   Titan has been working on the site since mid-2014.

The Green Carbon system uses 75 percent of gas from tires in a special reactor, Titan said. Each 59.00R63 tire produces approximately 500 gallons of oil, 4,000 pounds of carbon black and 2,000 pounds of steel.

Titan has invested $30 million so far in the venture. Titan partnered with ACDEN (part of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), former Duke Energy Corp. President Paul Newton, Green Carbon and Suncor Energy Inc. to bring this to the oil sands

Titan owns 60 percent of the venture, with the remaining 40 percent by ACDEN, Green Carbon and Mr. Newton. 

At full production, Titan estimates TTRC will be capable of converting 240,000 pounds of scrap tires a day into approximately 13,600 gallons of oil, 52,800 pounds of steel and 76,800 pounds of carbon black.

These recycled items can be placed back into new products. The system uses 85 percent of the gas it generates to heat up the vessel containing the scrap tires.

All four of Canada's major mines were represented at the TTRC opening with several of the mine contractors also present, Titan said. TTRC signed a 10-year lease in 2014 on 10 acres of land north of Fort McMurray for the operation.

Titan estimates at full capacity — i.e., once the Chilean and Australian businesses are open — its recycling activities could generate $250 million or more a year in revenue from the sale of reclaimed oil, carbon black and steel.

Morry Taylor said Titan expects to have four reactors operating in Chile and as many as nine in Australia, but the first of these won't be until 2017 at the earliest. In Chile the business will be serving the copper mining industry and in Australia coal and other ore mining.

Chief Allen Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) was also in attendance, showing the First Nation's support of the new technology and its partnership with TTRC, which opened with 15 employees and could grow to 40, Titan said.

According to Titan International Chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor, Titan plans to expand the TTRC operations to Chile and Australia, although he did not elaborate on the timing or scale of those plans.

“This system is not just the only one of its kind in the Canadian industry, it's the first of its kind in the world,” Mr. Taylor said at the Fort McMurray opening.

“This venture has taken over seven years to complete from the day Titan first met with Shell Oil, but it's been two years to get it here today with Suncor.”