Bee’ah has revealed that its Sharjah-based rubber-recycling facility is processing 3mn tyres per year.
Bee’ah uses eco-friendly cryogenic processes to recycle scrap tyres in a bid to reduce the amount of waste delivered to the UAE’s landfill sites and to lower the costs of raw materials.
In turn, the materials created are converted into crumb rubber or crumb rubber tiles suitable for a range of applications such as flooring.
“In line with our vision to provide practical solutions to future energy challenges, the rubber tiles produced by Bee’ah are made entirely of sustainable materials recycled by our Tyre Recycling Facility,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, group chief executive officer of Bee’ah.
“By converting all types of waste tyres into reusable products, Bee’ah is further cementing its commitment to achieving zero-waste to landfill in Sharjah – an objective which will catapult the Emirate into the environmental capital of the Middle East and make it the first Arab city ever to divert 100% of its waste from landfill,” he added.
During the course of the recycling process, liquid nitrogen is used to flash freeze tyres at -196°C. Once the scrap rubber is sufficiently brittle, it is broken down like glass by cracker mills, resulting in crumb granules varying between 0.6mm to 4mm in diameter.
“At Bee’ah, we have long relied on global environmental best practices and innovative waste management options to address rising eco issues caused by landfills,” said Fahad Shehail, chief operations officer at Bee’ah.
“That is precisely why our tyre recycling plant features cryogenic equipment – a truly groundbreaking technology – designed to turn used, worn-out tyres into a valuable product that can be reused as part of our economy and positively serve the community,” he explained.
Larger tyres used for construction and industrial applications can also be used at Bee’ah’s recycling plant using the company’s oversize tyre reduction (OTR) system, which breaks the units down so that they can be fed into the shredder.
Moreover, the metal threads of steel-belt radial tyres are removed and sold as recycled material whilst the tyres themselves go through the regular breakdown process.
A number of schools, parks, athletic facilities, municipality initiatives, and equestrian areas across Sharjah can significantly benefit from tyre-derived sustainable materials, according to Bee’ah. For example, recycled rubber mulch is often used for horse footing in arenas and pens.
Crumb rubber and crumb rubber tiles, meanwhile, are ideal for flooring applications such as running tracks, grass-surfaced playing areas, miniature golf courses, and artificial turf infill in local schools, parks, and athletics facilities.
A total of 6,000 recycled tyres were used to make the 3,000m2running track at Sharjah’s Al Majaz Waterfront park, and crumb rubber tiles manufactured from approximately 1,500 recycled tyres were used to build Al Qasaba’s play area.
Bee’ah is also helping to supply crumb rubber-blended asphalt for road-construction projects in Sharjah.
