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/