How crumb rubber is made
Reduce the tyre, separate steel and textile, then screen the rubber into grades. That is the basic process. A batch still needs to be checked against your specification.
Explore the questionsFrom tyre to graded material
- Prepare the tyres
- Shred into pieces
- Grind the rubber
- Recover steel
- Separate fibre
- Screen into grades
Reduce
Shredding and grinding free rubber from the tyre structure.
Separate
Magnets, air and screens recover different material streams.
Specify
Check the finished grade, not just a photograph of the machinery.
Inside the process
Choose a question to read more.
Six jobs on a recycling line
Preparation, size reduction, separation and screening each do a different job
1. Prepare the feedstock
Establish the tyre mix and remove unsuitable foreign material before processing. Whole tyres and pre-cut feedstock need different preparation.
2. Shred into manageable pieces
The first reduction makes material suitable for the next machine. A tyre shred still contains reinforcement; it is not finished rubber granulate.
3. Grind and release the reinforcement
Further size reduction breaks the rubber away from embedded wire and textile. The number and arrangement of machines vary between plants.
4. Recover steel
Magnets separate liberated ferrous wire from the material stream.
5. Remove textile
Air separation and screening help separate lighter textile and dust from rubber.
6. Screen the rubber
Screens divide the material into size fractions. Further processing can produce finer powder. Equipment-maker descriptions show these functions, although their exact sequence is plant-specific. See ELDAN’s recycling overview and separation equipment.
What changes between granules and powder
Both come from the rubber stream; powder involves finer size reduction
Granules and powder are product grades, not two separate materials extracted from a tyre. Mechanical grinding reduces size; it does not by itself turn vulcanised tyre rubber into virgin rubber.
For a first shortlist, compare Bedrock’s nominal granule ranges with the 20 and 30 mesh powder options. A grade name starts the conversation. Its permitted size distribution and suitability for your process still need agreement.
What the process cannot tell you
A good-looking line is not a test result for the material you intend to buy
Factory photographs help you understand the operation. They cannot establish residual wire, free textile, moisture or the particle-size distribution of a proposed shipment.
Give the supplier your required limits and ask which measurements are available for that grade and order. If a result is important to acceptance, agree the method, sampling and evidence before committing. A generic process diagram should never substitute for those checks.
See Bedrock’s factory page for our plant imagery, then use the sieve-analysis guide to understand the size question.
Match the process output to your specification
The next step is grade qualification for your application. Send Bedrock your target size distribution, intended use, quantity and destination. We can discuss the proposed material, available evidence and a sample for your evaluation before an order.
Discuss your material requirementsCommon questions
Is this the exact layout of Bedrock's line?
No. It explains common processing functions. The factory page shows Bedrock imagery; a buyer-specific technical discussion establishes the proposed material.
Does more processing automatically mean a better product?
Not necessarily. The useful question is whether the finished material meets your agreed size, contamination and application requirements.