This article presents the work carried out to define quality criteria of a new scrap
source for the steel industry: steel wires generated by grinding end-of-life tires. The
definition of this promising new secondary raw material source is perfectly in agreement
with the European Directives 75/442/CEE and 2000/53/EC, dealing with waste and recycling
of end-of-life vehicles, thus answering the environmental needs of our society.
Grinding
tires generates an interesting secondary raw material (rubber granulates) but also two
wastes, steel wires and textile fibers. We estimate that steel wires represent in Europe
180 kt of steel every year which is not, or badly, valorized. This study showed that the
recycling of these steel wires in steel mills was possible and viable, one necessary
condition being the determination of the non-metallic content remaining on the wires and
keeping it lower than 4%.