Fuel of the Future: Used Tires

(image: gallupindependent.com)

According to the Holland Sentinel of Holland, Michigan, an Illinois company has created a machine that can create crude oil and other fuels from used tires.

That’s right, Global Resource Corporation has built a  device that uses microwaves to create useable crude oil, combustible gases, steel, and carbon ash from tires without emitting greenhouse gases.  The prototype, called “Patriot 1,” is slated to go into production within the next two years and will be sold to commercial clients looking to reduce their waste.  Though not yet fully tested, technicians at Global Resource have said that the Patriot 1 model could be used to make fuel out of solid waste, heavy oil, and even oil shale.

And so another energy technology that sounds too good to be true emerges.  In the not-so-distant future, facilities around the country could be turning old tires into heating oil, thereby cutting down on waste in landfills and reducing the demand for fossil fuel, all without contributing to global warming.  Pretty impressive.

With financial turmoil taking a bite out of green energy development at every turn, its comforting to know that, regardless of funding, the technology exists today that will make up the energy revolution in the next few years.