Scientists at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) in Siberia have come up with technology enabling the development of Arctic-grade mazut, or fuel oil, from used car tires. At the core of the technology is vapor gasification, a method Russian researchers never applied before.

Lab tests showed the fuel oil’s resistance to freezing and ability to keep its properties at subzero temperatures as low as minus 50°C (conventional mazut freezes or solidifies in a -10…+10°C temperature range, depending on grade). The new mazut was reported to have sulfur content reduced by 50% (sulfur derivatives carry most aggressive atmospheric pollutants).

“We compared conventional mazut and the new one we obtained in our lab from rubber waste. Results showed that waste-based fuel oil was superior to conventional fuel oil across all parameters. In addition to being more eco-friendly through having lower sulfur content, the new mazut is less viscose and dense, which makes it more usable in various conditions. Its burning and energy-generating properties are no second to conventional grades,” said Maria Kirgina, an associate professor of chemical engineering at TPU who had researched into the new fuel oil.

In addition to fuel oil, the new technology also enabled the team to obtain recyclable gas and finely powdered carbon black. The latter could be used, for example, in roadbed construction.