About DevulCO2

About DevulCO2


The DevulCO2 project will carry out research into the devulcanisation and re-use of scrap tyre rubber. This is a very important research area, as all used tyre rubber was banned from being placed into landfill sites within the EU from 1st July 2006. The principal aim of the project is to develop a novel, continuous and effective devulcanisation system based on a combination of supercritical carbon dioxide, chemical devulcanisation agents and extrusion equipment. A secondary objective of the project is to evaluate the devulcanised rubber as a raw material replacement for virgin rubber in the manufacture of high-added value rubber products.


The project will last for two years and is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) within its Design and Manufacture of Sustainable Products programme. Projects within this programme are designed to develop eco friendly and sustainable processes that will benefit SME’s based in the UK. More than £420k of direct financial assistance will be provided by the DTI, with the project partners contributing another £420k between them.


Initially, work will be carried out using an autoclave system to establish the optimum reaction conditions needed to achieve a high quality, devulcanised rubber product. The main R&D effort will then involve the successful transfer of this technology to an extruder based system to enable a continuous process to be set up. The devulcanised product will then be evaluated as a material for the manufacture of a variety of rubber products.


Overall, the new technology developed as a result of this project will be used to provide a cost-effective solution to a challenging environmental problem. The SME’s in the project will gain the benefits for their respective businesses of having privileged access to the technology, and by the revenue generated by the granting of licences to third parties.
In addition to Rapra, the consortium partners involved in this project are PJH Partnership, Martins Rubber Company, BD Technical Polymer, J Allcocks and Sons, and Charles Lawrence International. These companies bring a high degree of synergy to the project, having expertise in the recycling of rubber and the production of rubber crumb, supercritical fluid technology, and the compounding and moulding of rubber products.


Start date: 1/11/2006

Completion date: 31/10/2008