Dhawan and Lengendre used technology that employs a large pressure cooker to make chemicals react differently than they would under normal conditions. In the pressure cooker, the tire rubber is mixed with a solvent that is similar to common paint thinner. The result, Dahwan said, is an oil that can be easily mixed with other oils, and a residue of carbon black, which has a number of manufacturing uses. Dhawan said Advanced Research Sciences could produce its first oil sometime this year. Ram B. Gupta, a chemical engineering professor at Auburn University, said Dhawan s process may offer environmental advantages over alternatives on the market because it separates sulfur compounds from the oil.
Sulfur is one of the primary compounds in acid rain.