Resource Stream

Source
 Para rubber tree – (Hevea
brasiliensis) named for its
country of origin, Brazil
 Major Rubber tree plantations
are located:
 Tropical, rainy areas
 Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia
 Natural 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
 Tapping
 About 20 seconds per tree
 450-650 trees per day per
person
 Every other, every third day
Extraction
 Collection
 After all tapping is done
 Collected 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 shape
3. 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 tanks
THEN
 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
Storage
Before Use
During Use
Tire Storage
Use
Disposal/ Dispersal Methods

Disposal/ Dispersal Methods
 Landfill Disposal
 Whole tires trap methane gas
 Shredded tires a better option
 Stockpiles and Illegal dumping
 Fire risk
 Vermin
 Mosquitoes
 High-Power Ultrasound Recycling
Tire Recycling Supply Stream
Tire 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

3.
Sandals and sub-road base
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 allergies
 Social and economic suppression of workers
 Road Dust:
 Particulate air pollution
 Water 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.contionline.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/