The Emery County Business Chamber met for their September lunch and learn to tour the new business Energy Recycling Technologies. This business takes used tires and cooks them into a usable fuel product. The group met at the Castle Cafe in Huntington and then walked across the street to the tire recycling business located at 740 North 400 East in Huntington.
Rick Sailors is the founder and CEO of the operation. “I would like to thank the city and the county. They have been great. The AOG has been great with financial support and the Emery County Economic Development. We’ve had a lot of support from local businesses and we’ve tried to use local contractors.”
Dean Lehwalder showed everyone the equipment and explained the processes involved. “We have all licenses and permits and we’re ready to go. We have had several test batches.”
The company is looking for local vendors to purchase their product. A company in Price is ready to take all of the steel for recycling and will bring a bin over to place on site. The steel comes from the tires and is left over after the refining process. Another by-product is the carbon char which is placed in super sacks and sent to Helper on a flat bed. It goes out every two weeks. Every load of the fuel product must be tested before it’s sold. The company hopes to install solar panels in the near future so they can be totally self sufficient and not use any outside energy sources except water. Once operational the business will produce approximately one tanker of tire derived oil per week.
Until the company purchases a tire shredder they will purchase tires already shredded. There are two plants in Utah where the tires can be purchased, TDFI in Fillmore and Liberty in Salt Lake.
After a shredder is purchased then the company will be able to take whole tires from a variety of sources including local counties that are interested in disposing of their tires locally. With a tire shredder the steel is collected magnetically.
Sailors said there are some pollutants, but the amount is so small the business is registered with the Department of Environmental Quality as exempt. They don’t need a permit. The cook time for a batch is 12 hours. A 20 lb. tire will yield 1.2 gallons of fuel. The entire process results in 100 percent of the tire being put to use. The oil from the process is stored in a tank. The oil is similar to diesel product number two. This product will be sold to asphalt companies. Asphalt laying is seasonal work in Utah, so companies in Arizona are also being contacted about purchasing the product throughout the winter.
The company hopes to employ approximately 40 people when they are up and running. There will be different jobs including mechanical, technical and general labor. The company has a list of applicants that have already visited the business. Farmers have also contacted the business and would like to purchase the fuel produced for their farm equipment.
This is Energy Recycling Technologies first operable facility. There are 12 similar plants across the US. ERT will process scrap tires into valued-added products using pyrolysis in an environmentally sound method. These products include: Marine fuel and heavy residual oil for use in asphalt; Industrial Carbon Recyclable scrap steel wire and Synthetic gas.
The company’s mission is to create permanent, quality jobs while operating a socially responsible, unapologetically for-profit enterprise focused on serving the communities in which we operate.
Pyrolysis is an established technology that uses heat to chemically alter a substance in the absence of oxygen. It is essentially the opposite of combustion or burning where heat is used in the presence of oxygen to chemically alter a substance and results in numerous environmental problems.
Pyrolysis is used heavily in the chemical industry, for example, to produce charcoal, activated carbon, methanol, and other chemicals from wood, to convert ethylene dichloride into vinyl chloride to make PVC, to produce coke from coal, to convert biomass into syngas, to turn waste into safely disposable substances, and for transforming medium-weight hydrocarbons from oil into lighter ones like gasoline. These specialized uses of pyrolysis may be called various names such as dry distillation, etc.
Pyrolysis also plays an important role in several cooking procedures, such as baking, frying, grilling, and caramelizing. And it is a tool of chemical analysis, for example, in mass spectrometry and in carbon-14 dating. Indeed, many important chemical substances, such as phosphorus and sulfuric acid, were first obtained by this process. Pyrolysis has been assumed to take place during catagenesis, the conversion of buried organic matter to fossil fuels. It is also the basis of pyrography. In their embalming process, the ancient Egyptians used a mixture of substances, including methanol, which they obtained from the pyrolysis of wood.
Eight tons of tires produces 3.6 tons of tire derived oil (TDO). ERT has installed a secondary distillation process that further separates TDO into three distinct products. About 80 percent of the TDO ends up as a medium-weight oil to be used as an alternative fuel in marine beakers or off-road diesel engines. A small amount of light oil is produced which can be used as an alternative fuel for gasoline engines and the balance is a heavy residual oil to be used for asphalt production.
There is a $14 billion international market for carbon black for use in the making of tires, ink, toner, paints, etc. The material sells for $300-$1,200 per ton based on the particle size and other characteristics. ERT will be producing a lower- to mid-value product for use in the manufacture of large plastic and rubber pipes and hoses. The rough char will be milled to a fine powder, processed through an automated weighing and bagging system and stacked on pallets. These pallets with be wrapped and shipped to the customer.
An 8-ton batch of tires produces approximately 16,000 standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas. This gas has approximately 50 percent more heat energy than natural gas. The bulk of this synthetic gas fuels the furnaces that generate the heat for the pyrolysis process. The remaining gas can provide fuel for the secondary distillation stage as well.
Depending on local markets and utility costs, the tire oil and/or the carbon char can be used for heat generation and the synthetic gas used for the generation of electricity. The ERT system is flexible in design in order to operate successfully in a variety of international environments.
The following are spotlights of those involved in bringing this new business to Emery County.
Richard Wm. Sailors
The majority shareholder and CEO of Providence Renewable Energies-AZ LLC Rick is ultimately responsible for the management of ERT. Though relatively new to the renewable energy field, Rick brings over 30 years of senior level management experience and successful leadership to this unique venture. For more than a year, Rick has been commuting between Tucson and Dubai where he has worked closely with Middle East Oil Corporation in research and development of ‘pyrolysis’ technology in generating renewable and alternative fuels. For many years, Rick has also led major turn-around efforts in broadcasting, sales, and is a professional educator with international teaching experience. As GM for several PBS and public radio stations, Rick was instrumental in reversing poor sales performance, conducting successful fundraising efforts, and turning struggling entities into profitable and respected broadcast sites. As Regional Sales Manager for a national insurance firm, Rick trained and managed dozens of sales reps, thereby significantly improving sales and expanding the company’s influence throughout the Central Arizona Region. Rick Sailors brings a tenacity, passion, and breadth of business, technology, and management prowess that is refreshing and needed in this ever-changing renewable energy field. Rick and his wife both graduated from the University of Arizona, have six children and have been married for over 30 years.
Sales and Operations consultant TJ Agardy
A former COO and now full-time consultant, TJ is Six Sigma trained and has an extensive background in operations, logistics and petrochemical sales and product development. As the former Managing Director of American PetroChem, TJ guided the international strategic development and growth of its chemical supply business, working with global giants like Dow, Hercules, Elf, ESSO, Mobil, Exxon, Union Carbide, Binney & Smith, Amerada Hess, Champion, Pennzoil, Shell, Chevron, Evergreen and BASF to dozens of other smaller chemical firms on a variety of pharmaceutical grade, chemical processing, manufacturing requisite resources. TJ earned his BPA from Eastern Michigan University and now lives with his wife and two young children in Tucson, Ariz.
Corporate Development
Paul King
Along with degrees in Business and Entrepreneurship, Paul has more than 10 years experience in sales, training and corporate development, with the last five years spent consulting in business creation and development, best practice development and implementation and corporate expansion. A native of Australia, Paul is currently living in Huntington. As well as overseeing corporate development Paul joined the Huntington operation as General Manager in early 2013. Paul has recently been joined by his wife, Katrina, and their three children from Nottingham, England.
Operations Rob Benedict
Having a background primarily in the construction industry after obtaining an equivalent bachelor degree, Robert went on to manage many installations of high end retailers. However following his passion for performing as an actor and compere he set up a successful entertainment business which resulted in acquisitions of similar companies. After more than a decade of hosting events he modestly acknowledges to have played some of the world’s most prestigious venues. Robert’s leadership skills have come into their own while working as a freelance SCUBA instructor being able to lead and instruct novice divers to full on search and rescue teams in the toughest of environments requiring peek physical fitness. He has relocated to Utah with his American wife, Lynnette, and their daughter, Elizabeth, from where he is the driving force of the first plant in Huntington.
New tire recycling plant opens in Huntington
"This is a picture of the tires within the cooker and they are ready for the cooking process."