Redundant tire and rubber compound reprocessing

Abstract

The invention provides for methods, systems, and devices for processing rubber materials including rubber from tires, tubes, shoe soles, or any other rubber containing product. Characteristics of the rubber materials, such as chemical composition and/or product manufacturer, model, and manufacture date, can be identified. Identification can be performed by personnel, can be automated, or can be a combination thereof. The characteristics of the rubber material can be used to sort the rubber product. Rubber materials suitable for a particular end product can be selected for further processing, which can include size reduction, material separation, chemical and physical processes, devulcanization, or a combination thereof. Processed rubber materials can be stored or delivered to a user or manufacturing site with product specifications.

1 . A system for recycling tire rubber material comprising:
 a. a selection system for inputting a selection of a desired end product having a selected chemical composition by a user, and based on said selection determines criteria for generating rubber granules for the manufacture of the desired end product selected by the user, wherein the criteria includes the selected chemical composition;   b. at least one shredding device for shredding waste tire rubber material, wherein said at least one shredding device is fitted with a grid that determines the size of the shredded material;   c. at least one conveyor for transporting the shredded material through the system; and   d. at least one metal remover, wherein said at least one metal remover removes metal from the shredded material,   wherein the system generates rubber granules of a predetermined size having the selected chemical composition based upon said desired end product selected by a user.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the criteria for rubber granules includes granules of between about 4 to 5 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the rubber granules are about 95% metal-free. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the rubber granules are about 99% metal-free. 
     
     
         5 . A process for recycling waste rubber-based material for a desired end product comprising:
 a. training personnel for identification of a chemical composition of waste rubber-based material;   b. selecting the desired end product having a selected chemical composition   c. determining a desired chemical composition of the waste rubber-based material based on the end product and the selected chemical composition;   d. identifying the chemical composition of the waste rubber-based material, wherein said identifying is carried out by said personnel; and   e. separating said waste rubber-based material based upon whether the identified chemical composition of the waste rubber-based material is the desired chemical composition, thereby generating the end product having the selected chemical composition;   f. delivering the end product to a user.   
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the waste rubber material is tagged with identifying information. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the separating step comprises separating based on magnetic properties. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the separating step comprises separating based on density. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the recycled rubber is accompanied by a specification sheet that contains information regarding the recycled rubber. 
     
     
         10 . A process for recycling rubber comprising:
 a. selecting recycled rubber-based material(s) for manufacture, having a selected chemical composition;   b. assessing a plurality of waste rubber-based materials according to a chemical composition of the waste rubber-based materials;   c. selecting at least one of said waste rubber-based materials for processing of the chemical composition as assessed in step b), wherein the selected waste rubber-based material(s) are selected for the manufacture of the selected recycled rubber-based material(s) having the selected chemical composition;   d. separating the selected waste rubber-based material(s) of step c); and   e. processing said separated waste rubber-based material(s) into material for said manufacture of said selected recycled rubber-based material(s) having the selected chemical composition.   
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the assessing of waste rubber materials includes analyzing the chemical composition of the waste rubber materials. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the separating step includes removing toxic materials. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the separating step includes removing metals.