July/August 1991
A variety of players gathered at the American Retreaders’ Association’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., to discuss and debate the benefits and pitfalls of getting into tire recycling.
By James E. Fowler
James E. Fowler is publisher and editorial director of Scrap Processing and Recycling.
On one point, everyone seems to agree--scrap tires are a problem that desperately needs a solution. But achieving consensus on just what that solution might be, or who should be responsible for implementing it, is another matter.
At the 1991 Scrap Tire Trade Show & Conference sponsored by the American Retreaders' Association (ARA) and held recently in Louisville, Ky., there were many ideas about what could and should be done with scrap tires, but little agreement on what constitutes "recycling" a tire and what forms of "recycling" should have priority. ARA, as you might suspect, puts protection of tire casings for retreading as a top priority.
Just as whole tires float to the surface in a landfill, controversy about which players--retreaders, tire manufacturers, federal and state government officials, and equipment manufacturers--should be doing more to further tire recycling came to the top of discussions at the three-day event. The only certainties evident to those in the crowded arena are that there are plenty of scrap tires out there, a lot of people looking for answers, and a few companies actually doing something about tire recycling.
Demand Lacking
Current demand for used tires is only about 20 percent of the 3 million tons of truck and passenger tires discarded in the United States each year, and only 5 percent is being used in "high priority" recycling options, according to Carl Katz, vice president of marketing and new product development for National Rubber Co. Inc. (Toronto). The remainder, he said, are generally disposed of in a "nonsecure manner. "
"One reason for this imbalance," the Canadian tire executive explained, "is that few processes for reclaiming the marketable components of tires have proven cost-effective on a large scale. " The cost to process tires into segregated components is items, making their substitution for virgin materials uneconomical, he said.
Saying that National Rubber is "the major recycler of tire-derived waste materials in North America," Katz stressed that the company strongly believes that the best long-term solution to the scrap tire problem is the development of products that use scrap tire components.
The six primary uses for the 250 million pounds of tires currently recycled annually are as pneumatic tires, friction-brake materials, molded rubber products, athletic surfaces, asphalt rubber, and railroad crossings. Katz noted that rubber asphalt alone could consume a significant portion of the scrap tires generated, even if only a fraction of American roadways used the paving material.
"A variety of interrelated factors seem to have squelched rubberized asphalt's growth since its inception more than 20 years ago," he said, identifying the material's higher price compared with conventional asphalt as the key item that often scares off public officials. He noted, however, that rubber asphalt advocates say their product is more cost-effective in die long run despite up-front costs that are 10 to 100 percent higher.
Other concerns, said Katz, include whether rubber content would impede efforts by the asphalt industry to recycle asphalt and how adding rubber to asphalt would affect emissions from asphalt plants. Additional testing, evaluation, documentation, and-most importantly-dissemination of information is needed, he said.
Market Outlook
Katz does not expect a balancing of supply and demand to be achieved "until processing technologies reach a higher level of cost-effectiveness and a wider range of end uses for reclaimed products is developed." He emphasized the importance of developing the technology necessary to make components of scrap tires economically attractive as a raw material while avoiding adverse environmental effects. Innovation in development of a wider range of end uses--especially products that take advantage of recycled rubber's best qualities--is also necessary, Katz said.
An essential part of the selection process for new products has to be comprehensive and realistic long-term financial projections, said Katz. "We cannot base long-term business decisions on today's tipping fees; we have to assume that tipping fees are of little value," he said, adding that "depending on the success of our market development activities, a time may come when car owners are paid for their old tires."
A long-lasting solution, Katz emphasized, requires that "all parties involved in the execution must be able to make a profit. " This, he said, may call for government to share in the risks and rewards in making tire recycling efforts self-sufficient. Public waste management policies, he added, "must allow industry to be competitive with other global businesses."
Stressing the importance of marketing strategies, he cautioned, "We should not count on the magic of the word 'recycling' as being the sole reason for purchase. " He said that government can play a special role in steering the marketplace "to environmentally friendly solutions. "
Katz noted that "there are very few tire grinders in North America today that are operating profitably or consistently and, therefore, there are few grinders in a position to support companies such as National Rubber." He said that his firm, in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, is "taking a leadership role by embarking on a $15-mfflion program that encompasses both the establishment of a $9-million grinding facility in Ontario and, more importantly, the commitment to spend almost $7 million on both process technology and market development for products made from scrap tires."
Katz concluded by saying, "I think that it is imperative that people do not get caught up in the lure of tipping fees, that we don't lose the business perspective on this activity, and that we continue to strive through a commitment to innovation to recycle this valuable resource in the most constructive manner.
Tire-Derived Fuel Options
Most of those who have used tire-derived fuel (TDF) are sold on it, according to J. Michael Kennedy, manager of tire and fuels programs for Waste Management of North America Inc. (Oak Brook, Ill.). Leading a workshop on marketing TDF, he cited potential markets for the commodity: cement and lime kilns, pulp and paper mill boilers, utility boilers, and waste-to-energy plants.
Kennedy encouraged those looking for markets for TDF to enlist the support of current consumers to help identify and convince other potential users. But, he reminded the audience, boiler operators are not interested in simply helping the community get rid of tires. "They won't do it for PR; they'll only do it if the engineering and the economics work.
Examining the engineering qualities of TDF, Kennedy noted that the fuel has a low moisture content (I percent), a low ash content (4.78 percent with wire removed; 22 to 25 percent with wire), a low sulfur content (1.23 percent), a volatile-to-fixed carbon ratio of 2-to-1, and a high British-thermal-unit content (15,500 per pound). Low moisture content is particularly important to fuel users, he said, suggesting that a TDF proximate analysis be done by a lab (at a cost of approximately $300) prior to trying to sell TDF.
Although you can make money selling TDF, Kennedy called the venture "a difficult business." Because tires are a disposal problem, he encouraged processors to collect a tipping fee for scrap tires high enough to cover all costs, including a built-in profit, so as to not have to rely on TDF sales to make it.
Speaking at a session on the need for setting standards for the scrap tire industry, Charles R. McGowin, technical manager of analysis for the Electric Power Research Institute (Palo Alto, Calif.), advised conference attendees of three important considerations in maximizing TDF quality: minimize moisture, eliminate loose bead wire and other metal, and eliminate long strips. He added that quality TDF is kept to a uniform size.
McGowin noted that TDF cofiring with coal is typically limited to 10 percent of the heat input and that the TDF value to the utility is generally discounted from the delivered cost of coal.
Examining Equipment Considerations
"There's more to scrap tire processing than simply buying a shredder," Terry Gray, president of T.A.G. Resource Recovery (Houston), cautioned attendees during a presentation of processing equipment. "Before you even look at equipment," he said, "define the product you want to produce." Also, look carefully at the markets, he added. Specific considerations to examine, Gray said, include scrap tire supply; the variability in quantity; types of tires available, such as passenger or truck; and location and transportation requirements.
He described the two types of tire shredders: rotary shear and replaceable knife. Flexibility, cutter reuse, bulk feeding, and particle size control are the advantages of the former, he said, while its disadvantages are limited knife life, cumbersome knife replacement procedures, and lower overall cutting quality. For the replaceable-knife tire shredder he listed long knife life and ease of knife replacement as two advantages, but noted that the primary advantage of this type-the machine's single-purpose design-can also be a disadvantage.
Tire Makers Criticized
Ronald T. McHugh, a senior economist in the office of policy, planning, and evaluation at the Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, D.C.), delivering a general session keynote address, accused tire manufacturers of "wanting no part of the solution to the scrap tire problem....They stick their heads in the sand. Tire manufacturers don't think retreading is recycling--tire manufacturers only believe in tire burning.”
John Serumgard, vice president of the tire division for the Rubber Manufacturers Association (Washington, D.C.), denied the accusation, noting that the industry had formed a Scrap Tire Management Council to find the most cost-effective ways to solve the problem. He emphasized that the complex issue of using reclaimed crumb rubber in new tires is being examined. Serumgard said tire manufacturers are concerned about the quality and safety of their products and they will not forego such considerations just to reuse scrap materials. •
A variety of players gathered at the American Retreaders’ Association’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., to discuss and debate the benefits and pitfalls of getting into tire recycling.