The physical properties of PT-char demonstrate its promising potential in the manufacture of valuable products like carbon black, activated carbon and fuels (Martnez et al., 2013). PT-char consists of a heterogeneous, porous structure characterised by a low surface area. PT-char is physically visible as a black solid, with a varying particle size range. The most important property of PT-char is surface area since surface area has a substantial impact on the performance of PT-char in its applications. Mean surface area for tire-derived char is reported in Table 2.2. The surface area of PT-char ranges from 32-116.3 m2/g which is comparable to that of certain tyre carbon blacks (Roy et al., 2005).
The second most important property of PT-char is structure. Structure is determined by aggregate size and shape, the number of particles per aggregate, and their average mass. These characteristics affect aggregate packing and the volume of voids in the bulk material. The measurement of void volume, a characteristic related to structure, is used to assess structure. Mean values of void volume are shown in Table 2.2. The final particle size range largely depends on the particle size of the pyrolysis feedstock reactor. The CV of PT-char is similar to that of solid fuels, such as coal. The coal used for power generation in South Africa has a CV range of between 20.3-24.1MJ/kg, depending on quality.
