Recently, a post on the European Tyre Recycling Discussion Group on Linkedin raised awareness of a developing project in Nigeria.
Tyre Recycling and Pyrolysis Project Proposed
The poster, Obinna Agommuo, of Industrial Transactions Limited/Independent Hydrocarbon Company Limited, wrote that he was looking for partners in a joint venture to develop tyre recycling and pyrolysis in Nigeria.
Tyre and Rubber Recycling asked Agommuo what stage the project was at.
“We intend to set up new processing plants. The project is a new one conceived from long period of research and age-long experience in trading in the end products of such processes”. Said Agommuo.
“We do not have any processing plant established at this time. However, we intend to set up a complete tyre recycling plant (including “debeader” or steel removing machine) to produce rubber powder along with two value chains producing reclaimed rubber and rubber tiles; plus, a tyre/plastics pyrolysis plant; Carbon Black Processing Machine; Oil Distillation Plant and Plastic Recycling Plant.
“We have 5 Hectares of Land in Nigeria’s capital city. Abuja and in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
There is a large tonnage of plastics and tyres in Nigeria, and also the potential to develop ambient products and moulded products, as well as recycled plastic as a raw material. Is this where you see your feedstock arising?
“Nigeria is home to millions of tons of waste tyres and waste plastics, which informed our decision of going into recycling and renewable energy. The potentials are huge and there are markets for all the end products locally and overseas. An integrated polymer recycling system is what we intend to set up”. Says Agommuo
Looking solely at pyrolysis, will you be focussing on the oil product, or the char? If the char, do you have markets for the char? If the oil, will you have a partnership with a refiner to refine the product?
“On Pyrolysis, we want to focus on both the oil and Carbon Black (Char) which we intend to process from 60 mesh to 200 microns and above. Though we have market for the fuel oil we also wish to further refine it to diesel using the distillation plant. We have regular buyers of both the fuel oil and Carbon Black in Nigeria.
“Currently we are getting our supply of Carbon Black from a government owned crude oil refinery that has become obsolete so can’t meet the daily demand of the product locally. It may surprise people to note that the government owned Carbon Black plant in Nigeria belonging to the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd is the only one in Sub-saharan Africa that produces Carbon Black.
“In a nutshell Nigeria and the Sub-Saharan Africa have so much untapped potential in waste recycling”. Concludes Agommuo.
