Life Cycle of a Rubber Tire
Resource Stream
Source Para rubber tree – (Hevea brasiliensis) named for its country of origin, Brazil
Major Rubber tree plantations are located: Tropical, rainy areasThailand, Indonesia,
MalaysiaNatural rubber is used
in over 40,000 products
Area under NR cultivation (thousand hectares) by country, average 2000-2005
Extraction
Latex – milky white secretion extracted from trees
TappingAbout 20 seconds per
tree450-650 trees per day
per personEvery other, every third
day
Extraction
CollectionAfter all tapping is doneCollected in half shell
coconuts, glazed pottery, aluminum or plastic cups.
Cup lump and tree lace, collected upon return 10-20%
Latex must be collected before coagulation
From a Social Point of View . . .
The tappers are often poor, uneducated women
The pay is extremely low
PROCESSING Vulcanization
1. Rubber is mixed with sulfur, bisphenol, or peroxide
2. Molded or extruded into shape3. Heated after rubber has taken final form
To improve resilience and elasticity, durability and utility
MANUFACTURING Schematic of Tire Production Process
Transport
The collected latex is transferred into tanksTHEN
transferred into air tight containers with sieving for ammoniation.
After being mixed and extruded, the hot gummy compound is cooled into slabs and transported to breakdown mills where the rubber takes the desired form
Shipped worldwide
StorageBefore Use During Use
Tire Storage
Use
Disposal/ Dispersal Methods
Disposal/ Dispersal Methods
Landfill Disposal Whole tires trap methane gasShredded tires a better option
Stockpiles and Illegal dumpingFire riskVerminMosquitoes
High-Power Ultrasound Recycling
Tire Recycling Supply StreamTire Derived Products
1. Whole tires Used by steel mills as
carbon source, instead of coal or coke
Barriers, such as collision reduction, erosion control
Earthships!
2. Stamped (cut) tires Sandals and sub-road base
3. Chipped (shredded) tires Tire-Derived Fuels (TDF)
Tire Recycling Supply Stream continued
Tire Derived Products
4. Ground (crumb) rubber
Rubber Modified
Concrete (Sidewalks)
Rubber Modified
Asphalt
Carpet padding
Patio decks
Movable speed bumps
Playground equipment
Environmental Impact
Latex allergiesSocial and economic suppression of workersRoad Dust:
Particulate air pollutionWater pollution:
TDF – Air Pollution“As of 2003, about 290 million tires are
discarded in the U.S. every year (roughly one per person). Nearly 45% of these scrap tires (130 million) are used as "Tire Derived Fuel" (TDF), which involves burning the (usually shredded) tires.” (Energy Justice)
Environmental Impact
Any Questions?
Literature Cited
1. American Chemical Society (1999, November 30). Road Dust - Something To Sneeze About. Science Daily. Retrieved December 6, 2009, from website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/11/991130062843.htm
2. Crop: Rubber. InfoComm, Market Information in the Commodities Area. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from website: www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/rubber/crop.htm
3. Environment: Life Cycle Assessments. Life Cycle Assessment of a Car Tire. Continental. Retrieved November 17, 2009 from website: http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/com/en/continental/portal/themes/esh/life_cycle_assessments_en/download/life_cycle_assessment_en.pdf
4. Kinneman, Ballew. (1997 March 08). A Brief Natural History of latex Rubber Allergy. Retrieved October 19, 2009 from website: http://www.immune.com/rubber/nr1.html
5. Natural Rubber. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 23 from website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber
6. Parag R. Patel, Joshua J. Pun, Cory A. Robinson. (2001 April 25). Polymer Products in Everyday Life. Retrieved October 22, 2009 from website: http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/Courses/ce435/2001ZGu/Firestone_Tires/FirestoneTiresReport.htm
7. Stockpiles and Illegal Dumping. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_recycling. Last modified on 29 November 2009.
8. Tire-Derived Fuel. Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - Scrap Tires. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from website: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/tires/basic.htm. Last updated on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008.
9. What is "Tire Derived Fuel" and why is it dangerous? Energy Justice Network. Retrieved November 24, 2009 from website http://www.energyjustice.net/tires/