Characterization, Analysis and Comparison of Activated Carbons Issued from the Cryogenic and Ambient Grinding of Used Tyres

Activated carbons were obtained from the cryogenic grinding of used tyres using the liquid nitrogen as agent of freezing and compared to those obtained by the ambient grinding,. These products were prepared using the chemical activated method. It consists of impregnation of the powder obtained from the cryogrinded and ambient grinded used tyres by phosphoric acid, followed by a carbonization at 600 °C in inert atmosphere. It was found that the surface area and total pore volume of are around 400 m/g and 0.44 cm/g respectively for both the cryogrinded and ambient grinded used tyres, with a small advantage for the cryogenic grinding. In order to prove the viability of the cryogenic grinding and the using of chemical activation, physicochemical properties of the activated carbons obtained from the pyrolysis of used tyres were investigated by several techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR).