Activation of tyre char has been carried out using steam as activation agent, and the effect of temperature
and activation time has been studied. The char samples used in the activation have been obtained by
continuous flash pyrolysis carried out in a conical spouted bed reactor at 500 8C. The activation has been
carried out at 850 and 900 8C in a fixed bed reactor. During the process, a mesoporous structure is
developed, with a predominant pore diameter of around 500A˚ and BET surface areas above 500 m2/g for
both the temperatures studied. Moreover, sulphur content significantly decreases during activation and
activated carbons with lowsulphur content are obtained. This reduction in content may be the key for the
industrial application of tyre-derived-carbons, either as active carbons or as carbon blacks for tyre
manufacturing