The cold temperatures slowly crawl into Germany – time to change to winter tires! But often car owners have to find out that the last year’s stored tires no longer have the necessary profile to bring their vehicle safely through the cold season – immediate action is required!
But what about the old tires?
In the Emirate of Kuwait on the Arabian Peninsula one is spared from the rattling coldness, but they also have a tire problem – a GIGANTIC one! At the tire cemetery in Sulaibiya an estimated 14 million discarded tires of all sizes are rotting in the sand. The landfill is so big that you can even see it from the outer space. A massive environmental risk! The droughting desert sun had already triggered a devastating firefight in 2012 and covered the blue sky with a thick black smoke cloud.
Rubber particles for road construction
Solutions need to be found! The company EPSCO from Kuwait City was entrusted with the task of gradually removing the tire cemetery from 2017 onwards. To ensure that this is done under the aspects of current environmental standards, the tires need to be shredded first and then subjected to combustion by pyrolysis or, after appropriate preparation, to be used as an additive for new road surfaces.
Technology from Germany
ARJES has been approached to provide the appropriate shredding technology. Since the tires are mainly reinforced commercial steel wheels with steel ropes, our most powerful shredder of the type VZ 950 DK was delivered. With the machines track system it remains mobile at all times and can flexibly switch between truck loading and discharging onto a separate material cone. At a throughput of approx. 25 t/h, it is expected that the tire mountain will be dealt with by the end of next year.
