Recycled Products Derived from the SK-200 System
(Tire and/or plastics scenario)

Carbon Black:

Carbon black is the main recycled byproduct produced by the SK-200 System. The global carbon black industry is estimated at over 7 billion kilograms per annum. North America consumes about 2 billion kilograms of carbon black per year or 26% of the world market (according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association).

Carbon black is an engineered compound found in countless items used on a daily basis. It is an essential ingredient in tires and other mechanical rubber goods, improving their strength, durability and overall performance. It also is used as a pigment in printing inks, paints and plastics.

New carbon black is made primarily from a petroleum based feedstock. The oil is pumped into a specially designed furnace, where it is heated above 2,000° F. This process "cracks" the oil to produce a gas stream laden with carbon black powder. The gas stream passes through a series of filters, where the carbon black is separated from the gases. The carbon black powder then is bound with water to create larger beads or granules, which are passed through a dryer and packaged for delivery to customers in every part of the world. We make carbon black from recovering it from waste products and recycling products rich in carbon black.

Initially, non-tire manufacturers will comprise KI's primary market. Over the long term, KI will pursue acceptance of different grades carbon black by rubber manufacturers and large end users of rubber and plastic related products. KI has identified potential customers, distributors, and partners (including a large tire manufacture) and is establishing a strategic sales relationship with these companies offering them a price advantage over virgin based materials.

The particle size, structure, and surface area of carbon black plays a significant role in the material properties of rubber, plastics, and other products, For this reason, carbon black is made in various grades to meet the varying material needs and specifications of manufacturers. In general, carbon black grades with smaller particle size have better reinforcing and abrasion resistance qualities than those with larger particle size.

The carbon black produced from the SK process has a multitude of uses in endless products. It can be used as a fuel source by pressing it into briquettes. Once pressed into briquettes it produces much higher Btu's and leaves less than 3% in ash after burning it, which means that it can be used as a clean burning alternative (substitute coal). Elastomeric products reinforced with Kouei ECOLUS™ carbon black can be used in many dynamic applications where controlled dampings of mechanical vibrations are required.

Carbon black produced from ECOLUS™ systems derived specifically from the pyrolysis of waste tires can be used in almost any application that ‘virgin’ carbon black (VCB) may be used such as tire production, rubber compounding, pigments, coatings, etc. Some specialized applications of recovered carbon black (RCB) may require additional processing after pyrolysis to yield specific particle sizes; however, there are many applications for carbon black recovered from waste tires that require little, if any, post processing of the material. RCB is readily dispersed in many polymer solutions and is currently being utilized as the primary filler for coatings containing waste polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The RCB produced by the ECOLUS™ system is a low surface area material and has an activated surface due to the catalytic charging process through which it is obtained. This makes the material amenable to high loadings compared to carbon blacks with high surface areas.

Kouei Industries also posses its own patented activation technology to produce high quality activated carbon which is an excellent filter for wastewater clean up and filtration of industrial manufacturing flue gas emissions with regards to industrial processes such as WTE plants. This same activation technology also has a unique patented design that removes zinc oxide from within tire derived carbon. This same technology can also reactivate spent activated carbon.

Fuel oil:
The primary oil product generated by the SK system has a flash point of 55 degrees Celsius which is higher than CIMAK-10 commercial grade diesel fuel (50 degrees Celsius flash point oil) used in industrial/commercial combustion engines. Coupled with its high CV this fuel can be consumed as a commercial diesel fuel oil. The oil produced is scrubbed and centrifuged automatically inside this system, and is done so to satisfy markets demanding oil with low sulphur content (SK has less than 1% sulphur content). Given the present price of crude oil (above $35.00 U.S. a barrel), there is significant demand and economic incentive to use Kouei’s upgraded or blended oil products. This fuel oil will be marketed directly to industrial clients and can be sold directly or blended as off road diesel, marine diesel fuel or burner fuel.

Non-condensable Gases:
The non-condensable gasses from a SK System have a 50% higher BTU value than natural gas and can be used as a replacement for natural gas or propane. These gases contain sufficient BTU’s to fire turbines or boilers to generate electricity or thermal energy. This gas is scrubbed using a patented filter system only found within the SK to reduce the sulphur compounds by approximately 99%.

Steel:
The steel content inside tires ranges from 6% to 15% of the total tire weight. The high quality recyclable steel produced by the SK-200 system can be pressed into briquettes and sold as a feedstock for steel mills.

Electricity:
Within the next few months the ECOLUS SK will produce electricity which will be generated from a turbine that is driven from the products produced by the ECOLUS SK.

Other
Depending on the feedstock and the cooking and or coking times, the process can be tweaked to make other specialty chemicals that may be even more profitable than oil. We are now designing a complementary technology to produce Nano-carbons from the based material derived from the SK process. For more information please visit www.nanocarbontechnology.com

Estimates for the market for these polymeric Nano-composites by 2009 are $10 billion U.S., with the Canadian market alone being worth $500 million per year by the end of the decade. Laboratory testing has confirmed that if you use or combine these nanocarbon molecules in batteries, it’s been proven to make the batteries charge last 3 times longer. Studies have also showed that if you use Nano-composites in the material make up of coatings, catalysts, and membranes; these Nano-composites can block out electromagnetic and gamma radiation. Similar performance improvements can be foreseen through the development high value products including: High value specialty chemicals such as stirene, limonene, indene, xylene and naphthalene found in significant concentrations in the derived light oil fraction.

The Holy Grail is the production of hydrogen from water, fueled by renewable energy sources such as biomass (scrap tires & plastic), wind, and solar energy. With the addition of a turbine, super heated steam can be created during the SK recycling process. This steam can be further processed to produce Hydrogen at the same time as recycling waste materials making Hydrogen another product opportunity.