1、Energy Justice Network helping communities protect themselves from polluting energy and waste technologies,Tire Pile Problems,Tires cause health problems (mosquitoes) Can catch fire Expensive to get rid of,Tire Derived Fuel US EPA,General InformationIn 2003: 130 million scrap tires used as fuel (45%
2、 of amount generated)Shredded or whole tires usedClaimed AdvantagesTires produce the same amount of energy as oil and 25% more energy than coalThe ash residues from TDF may contain a lower heavy metals content than some coals.Results in lower NOx emissions when compared to many U.S. coals, particula
3、rly the high-sulfur coals.EPAThe Agency supports the responsible use of tires in Portland cement kilns and other industrial facilities,Tire Incineration in U.S.,52% of U.S. scrap tires are burned,2005 US Scrap Tire Market Summary (millions of tires),Most tire incineration is done in cement kilns and
4、 paper mills These are also very polluting and have been fought by community groups,Alternatives to Burning Tires,Source Reduction Toxics Use Reduction Reuse (Retreading) Recycling Devulcanization Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Monofills,Dedicated Tire Incinerators,Modesto Energy LP Westley, CA Giant t
5、ire pile fire in 1999, closing plant Exeter Energy LP Sterling, CT Opened in 1991 Its ash is considered hazardous waste due to high levels of toxic metals; ash was improperly sold as fertilizer in Washington state in the mid-1990s Geneva Energy, LLC Ford Heights, IL Opened in 1996 fire on the convey
6、or feeding the boiler shut it down; reopened in recent years Heartland Energy and Recycling, LLC Preston, MN Never built Defeated by community opposition in 2005,Majority owned by Caletta Renewable Energy of Boston, MA Plans to burn 800 tons of shredded tires per day Would use a “fluidized bed” boil
7、er Expects to produce 70 megawatts of electricity Company has NO experience with building, owning or operating tire incinerators or any power plant or waste facility,Erie Renewable Energy, LLC,No state laws in Pennsylvania or neighboring states qualify energy produced from burning tires as renewable
8、 or “alternative” energy No environmental organizations consider tire incineration renewable Renewable energy certification programs do not, either The proposed federal renewable energy law also doesnt. Tires are produced from fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources (like zinc and other metal
9、s),Tire Burning is NOT Renewable,ERE says they wont have stockpiles of tires because theyll chip the tires as soon as they come in (mostly via rail) Some tires will have to be piled while waiting for the shredder Chipped/shredded tires will still be stockpiled on-site, in a building Shredded tires h
10、ave a higher surface area with more air exposure and would catch fire more quickly.,Tire Pile Fires,Tire incinerator is near land that had been used as a tire dump for years. The pile was struck by lightning Sept. 22, touching off a fire that burned for a month and consumed nearly 5 million of the 7
11、 million tires that had been stored there.,Westley, CA Tire Fire,Westley, CA Tire Fire,Fluidized Bed Combustors,FBC boiler technology over 30 years oldCan be used to burn a wide range of fuels, including very poor fuels like waste coalStarted to be used to burn waste coal in late 1980sSome fluidized
12、 bed waste coal burners have also been used to burn tires,Fluidized bed combustors are one of several types of incinerators Patent claims, environmental agencies, scientific journals and industry agree The industry avoids the term “incinerator” because people recognize it as the polluting technology
13、 that it is Burning = combustion = incineration Its not appropriate to call this “tires-to-energy” or simply a “chemical process”,It is an Incinerator!,Large volumes of limestone are added to fluidized bed burners to control sulfur emissions For waste coal burning fluidized bed burners, 85 tons of h
14、ighly toxic ash are created for every 100 tons of waste coal burned The Exeter Energy tire incinerator in Sterling, CT has been considered a “Large Quantity Generator” of hazardous waste,Incinerators are “Waste-to-Toxic Ash and Toxic Air Emissions Machines”,Chemical Composition of Tires,Typical type
15、s of materials used to manufacture tires:Synthetic Rubber Natural Rubber Sulfur and sulfur compounds Silica Phenolic resin Oil: aromatic, naphthenic, paraffinic Fabric: Polyester, Nylon, Etc. Petroleum waxes Pigments: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, etc. Carbon black Fatty acids Inert materials Steel
16、WireSource: U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association / Scrap Tire Management Council,Chemical Composition of Tires,Representative Analysis of TDF Produced By WRI (Source: TDF Produced From Scrap Tires with 96+% Wire Removed) Source: U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association / Scrap Tire Management Council,
17、Chemical Composition of Tire Ash,Preliminary Results Of Slag (Bottom Ash) Analysis Source: U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association / Scrap Tire Management Council,Chemical Composition of Tire Ash,Note: These results are from incineration of 100% tire fuel. Sources: Radian Corporation, Results From Sam
18、pling and Analysis of Wastes From the Gummi Mayer Tire Incinerator, May 1985. Source: U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association / Scrap Tire Management Council,Tire Derived Fuel Emissions,Data on emissions from tire burning varies Some studies compare a mixture of tires and coal to 100% coal; others com
19、pare to other mixtures of fuels Chemical composition of coal can vary by coal type and region Data is from cement kilns, paper mills or other industrial boilers Operating conditions may vary,Tire Derived Fuel Emissions,Common trends in comparing TDF/coal mixture to 100% coal,Chlorine in Tires,Add Ch
20、lorine to tires Aromatic extender oils “Salt-bath“ vulcanization process Halogenated butyl rubber liners California study: Tires have 2-5 times the chlorine level of western coal EPA survey: chlorine levels in tires 2% higher than the national average for bituminous coal,Dioxin Facts,Dioxins and fur
21、ans are the most toxic chemicals known to science. They are highly toxic even in miniscule amounts. Dioxins cause infertility, learning disabilities, endometriosis, birth defects, sexual reproductive disorders, damage to the immune system, cancer and more. 93% of dioxin exposure is from eating meat
22、and dairy products.,Exposure to Dioxins,How to make dioxin,Dioxins are created by burning hydrocarbons (fossil fuels, tires, hazardous wastes) with chlorine (present in coal, tires and some hazardous wastes) in the presence of oxygen. Dioxin emissions increase when: More chlorine is in the fuel/wast
23、e stream (tires have more chlorine than coal) Certain metal catalysts are present (tires have iron and zinc) The gases stay in a low temperature range (200-450o C),Dioxin Emissions from Tire Burning,Creating Cancer,Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): group of over 100 different chemicals that a
24、re formed as byproducts of combustionMost PAHs are known to cause cancer in animals and are suspected to cause cancer, birth defects and a wide variety of other health problems in humans.Fluidized bed combustors form PAH more than normal coal burners due to:use of limestone injectionlow oxygen level
25、slower combustion temperature rangelow-rank coalhigher sulfur levels in fuelhigher chlorine levels in fuel,Benzo(a)pyrene,Mercury (Hg),Comes in three forms: methylmercury, elemental mercury, and other mercury compounds. The most common exposure is to methylmercury, which leads to impair neurological
26、 development and, in severe cases, peripheral vision impairment, sensation disturbances, lack of coordination, speech impairment, hearing impairment, and muscle weakness. Some studies show an increase in mercury emissions from adding tires to a fuel blend.,Ground-Level Ozone, a.k.a. Smog,By deflecti
27、ng UV radiation, ozone is beneficial in the upper atmosphere, but at ground-level it is highly toxic. The EPAs Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee has urged that the ozone standard be more protective of public health. Ozone (“O3”) is not emitted directly as air pollution. It is created by chemic
28、al reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Numerous scientific studies have linked ground-level ozone exposure to a variety of problems, including: lung irritation that can cause inflammation much like a sunburn; wheezing, coughing
29、, pain when taking a deep breathe, and breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities; permanent lung damage to those with repeated exposure to ozone pollution; and aggravated asthma, reduced lung capacity, and increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and bronch
30、itis.,Sulfur Dioxide (SO2),SOx gases are formed when fuel containing sulfur, such as coal and oil, is burned, and when gasoline is extracted from oil, or metals are extracted from ore. Peak levels of SO2 in the air can cause temporary breathing difficulty for people with asthma who are active outdoo
31、rs. Longer-term exposures to high levels of SO2 gas and particles cause respiratory illness and aggravate existing heart disease. Precursor to fine particulates, causes acid rain, reduces visibility, damages crops and ecosystems, and damages historic monuments.,Particulate Matter (PM), a.k.a. Soot,G
32、rouped by the EPA into two categories: “Inhalable Course Particles”, basically dust “Fine Particles”, smallest particles, found in smoke and haze Fine particles generate the most concern and have a range of health effects: increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing,
33、or difficulty breathing, for example; decreased lung function; aggravated asthma; development of chronic bronchitis; irregular heartbeat; nonfatal heart attacks; and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.,Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs),VOCs are a family of chemicals which have vary
34、ing short- and long-term adverse health effects. Health effects of exposure to VOCs include eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause
35、cancer in humans.,Nitrogen Oxides (NOx),Nitrogen oxides is the generic term for a group of highly reactive gases, all of which contain nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. Nitrogen oxides form when fuel is burned at high temperatures, as in a combustion process. The primary manmade sources of NOx
36、 are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fuels. Problems associated with NOx: Precursor to ground-level ozone; Causes acid rain; Precursor to particulates; Deteriorates water quality (eutrophication); Impairs visibility; and Leads t
37、o formation of toxic chemicals: In the air, NOx reacts readily with common organic chemicals and even ozone, to form a wide variety of toxic products.,Global Warming / Climate Change,Pennsylvania already emits 1% of the entire worlds greenhouse gas emissions.“N2O has a Global Warming Potential 296 t
38、imes that of CO2.” “N2O is emitted from fluidized bed coal combustion N2O emission from the FBC is equivalent to an increase of about 15% in CO2 emissions for an FBC boiler”-National Coal Council, May 2003,Test Burns are Unreliable,Emissions estimates and regulatory enforcement usually based on infr
39、equent testing under optimal conditions Tests dont reflect startup, shutdown and upset conditions Tests are usually done with careful attention paid to temperature, air flow and other operating conditions May take multiple samples until one passes Tests are very infrequent,Continuous Emissions Monit
40、ors,Only generally used for sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), oxygen (O2) and carbon monoxide (CO) Technology now exists to continuously monitor:,Ammonia (NH4)Carbon Dioxide (CO2)Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)Acid Gases: Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)Products
41、of Incomplete Combustion (PICs): Dioxins & Furans Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs),Metals: Antimony (Sb) Arsenic (As) Barium (Ba) Cadmium (Cd) Chromium (Cr) Lead (Pb) Manganese (Mn) Mercury (Hg) Silver (Ag) Nickel (Ni) Zinc (Zn) and more,FOR MORE INFO:,Keep Eries Environment Protected Energy Justice Networks Tire Incineration Page www.EnergyJ www.ActionPA.orgPAs “Alternative” Energy Law www.ActionPA.org/cleanenergy/,Energy Justice Network helping communities protect themselves from polluting energy and waste technologies,
