Eli5 why can’t tires be melted down and reused?

Question

Eli5 why can’t tires be melted down and reused?

In: 808

Answer 1

There are two overarching types of polymers: thermoplastics and thermosets

You can think of polymers in general like molecular ropes. In thermoplastics, those ropes aren’t tied to each other and can move past one another (melt). Thermosets are like if you tied all those ropes together in a big net. Those ropes can’t move past each other, and so thermosets cannot melt.

Tires are a thermoset material, so they cannot melt.