vapor temperature to produce dissolved components from the rubber tires a precipitate is produced from at least some of the dissolved components application_number US 201213683443 A description it has been found that certain ionic liquids can be used as solvents in effecting the depolymerization of vulcanized polymers such as rubber tires in particular the components of vulcanized polymers can be recovered with the use of hydrophobic ionic liquids as a solvent one example of a hydrophobic ionic liquid that may be employed as a solvent is c 6 h 13 3 c 10 h 21 p cf 3 so 2 2 n u2212 which is commercially available and known by the abbreviation ryptf2n in a generally applicable method to depolymerize vulcanized polymers the following procedure may be used the vulcanized rubber is mixed with the hydrophobic ionic liquid in a sealed vessel and heated to an elevated temperature in one embodiment the mixture is heated to a vapor temperature exceeding 175 u00b0 c more specifically to a vapor temperature exceeding 300 u00b0 c and more specifically still to a vapor temperature equal to or exceeding 330 u00b0 c the vulcanized rubber is depolymerized while at this elevated temperature dissolving in the hydrophobic ionic liquid the dissolved.