Scrap tires

Journal Article · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Compressed Air; (United States)

OSTI ID:5866674

Scrap tires, one small part of the country's massive solid waste problem, are causing a disproportional headache. A city the size of Newark, N.J., for example, can pay up to $700,000 a year just to bury its waste tires, assuming it can find landfills to accept them. Many landfills no longer do, and in some areas, it is actually illegal. So stockpiles of scrap tires mount up and illegal dumping runs rampant. Scrap tires represent less than 1 percent of the nation's total solid waste. While we generate approximately a ton of solid waste per year per person, or 250,000,000 tons, we generate only one 20-pound tire per person, or 2,500,000 tons. Despite this small percentage, these tires present a special disposal/reuse challenge because of their size, shape, and physicochemical nature. Classified as a special waste, they are not generally collected with household waste by municipal authorities. Notwithstanding the unique disposal/reuse challenges of scrap tires, it must be stressed that a tire is essentially a petrochemical product than can be reused, can be a source of recoverable petrochemicals, or can be used as a fuel with a higher Btu value than coal. Thus what appears as a waste disposal challenge is also a resource recovery opportunity. Unfortunately, at present, only 30 percent of the country's scrap tires are being reclaimed or recycled. In terms of options, there are three viable areas in which to approach the waste tire problem: whole tire applications; physically processed tire applications; and physicochemical processes.

• OSTI ID: 5866674
• Journal Information: Compressed Air; (United States), Vol. 93:12
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
ENERGY RECOVERY
SOLID WASTES
RECYCLING
TIRES
WASTE PROCESSING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
PETROCHEMICALS
MANAGEMENT
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
090400* - Solid Waste & Wood Fuels- (-1989)
320305 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Industrial Waste Management