PALERMO – The now obsolete tires transformed into powder to be reused in the asphalt production cycle. This is one of the challenges of the “Rubberap” project which the Laboratory of roads, railways and airports of the Engineering Department of the University of Palermo is running, in collaboration with the consortium company “Ecopneus” and which sees the Universitè Gustave Eiffel as partners, the Trapani company “Smacom Srl” and the innovative start-up “Rub-Lab srl” (both based in Santa Ninfa) and “DS Asfalti srl”.
The first test on the research field was held in Santa Ninfa. In the presence of Professor Davide Lo Presti of the University of Palermo, the engineers Luis Alfonso de Leòn Alonso of the Swiss company “Tire Recycling Solution”, Luciano Spina, President of the “Rub-Lab” and Antonino Pellicane of “Smacom”, we proceeded to carry out test spreads to verify the absence of operational limitations during the mixing, spreading and compaction phases. Workers, contractors and technicians of some municipalities in the Trapani area, have observed how the workability, the emission of fumes and the cleaning of the machinery they are even improved compared to conventional asphalts.
“This is an innovative method for Italy – explains Luciano Spina, head of the company that will promote it in Sicily – because it allows the reuse of old tires in eco-sustainable interventions on the streets”.
The Swiss company “Tire Recycling Solution” is a leading company in the sector and is the licensee of the American patent “Asphalt Plus”. For decades, obsolete tires have already been made recyclable in America and used in the production of asphalt. In Europe this technique has recently been used, especially in Spain. In Italy, environmental regulations only gave the go ahead last November. Hence the collaboration between «Rub-Lab», «Smacom» and «DS Asfalti» with «TRS».
“For the first test it was the Swiss company that supplied us with the recycled rubber powder but the design idea of our startup” Rub-Lab “is to close the production cycle of the engineered tire rubber powder right here in Santa Ninfa, with the installation of the system », said Luciano Spina.
Currently in Italy just over 500 km of roads have been built with “rubberized asphalt”, but none with this revolutionary technology. Although they may seem harmless, tires are a significant source of the planet’s waste. In Italy last year 189,569 tons of end-of-life tires collected by the consortium company “Ecopneus”. In Sicily about 20,000 tons were collected and 70% were treated at the “Smacom” in Santa Ninfa. Currently, rubber chips, deriving from the crushing of tires, find the market as an alternative fuel for large plants, especially cement plants. From Santa Ninfa, a large portion of the production is sold abroad, hence the new challenge for recycling and reuse according to the logic of the Circular Economy. (ANSA).