Carbolytic Materials

About Carbolytic Materials

Carbolytic Materials Company operated in the waste-to-energy sector, focusing on converting scrap automotive tires into commercially viable products. The company's primary process was pyrolysis, a method that involves heating shredded tire material to approximately 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit in a low-oxygen environment. This process was designed to break down the tires into carbon black, syngas, and lubricant-grade oil.

The main output, a form of carbon black, is a reinforcing and coloring agent used in a wide array of rubber and plastic goods. Additionally, the company aimed to market the recovered steel from the tires and utilize the produced syngas to generate electricity, potentially powering its own facility and providing excess energy to the local grid.

The company was housed in a plant in Maryville, which experienced a difficult three-year period that included an oil spill and two fires, ultimately leading to bankruptcy and closure in 2012. The facility and its operational concept were later taken over and refitted by Bolder Industries, which continues a similar, albeit refined, process of tire pyrolysis.