Developing a Sustainable Waste Tire Management Strategy for Thailand
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Developing a Sustainable Waste Tire Management Strategy for Thailand Sponsored by the National Science and Technology Development Agency March 1, 2013 Kailyn Connor Orachitr Bijaisoradat Steven Cortesa Nachnicha Kongkatigumjorn Shakhizada Issagaliyeva Kunathon Wattanavit Adam Meunier Professor Seth Tuler, Co-Advisor Professor Stanley Selkow, Co-Advisor Professor Supawan Tantayanon, Co-Advisor 1 Developing a Sustainable Waste Tire Management Strategy for Thailand An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in cooperation with Chulalongkorn University Submitted on March 1st, 2013 Submitted by: Submitted to: Kailyn Connor Ms. Jiratchaya Duangburong Steven Cortesa Shakhizada Issagaliyeva Adam Meunier Co-Authors: Project Advisors: Orachitr Bijaisoradat Professor Seth Tuler, Nachnicha Kongkatigumjorn Professor Stanley Selkow Professor Supawan Tantayanon Kunathon Wattanavit This report represents the work of four WPI and three CU undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, please see http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Project i Abstract Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency is seeking to develop a successful program to manage approximately 600,000 tonnes of waste tires generated annually in Thailand. This project investigated Thailand-specific issues and options for a viable long-term waste tire management strategy. We evaluated current practices, potential technologies, and successful systems from foreign nations to draw conclusions and make recommendations regarding which technologies are most applicable to Thailand. We made additional recommendations concerning which aspects of a waste tire management system needed to be newly implemented or continued to be used and improved. i Acknowledgments Our team would like to recognize and thank all of those individuals that have helped us over the past four months on this project. Our project would not have been as successful without their contributions. First we would like to thank our sponsor the National Science and Technology Development Agency and Ms. Jiratchaya Duangburong for their guidance, input and support on our project. Ms. Jiratchaya was a valuable asset to our team and was essential in helping to arrange and complete our site visits and interviews. We also would like to thank her for taking our team to NSTDA headquarters and giving us an inside look into our sponsoring organization and their missions and goals. Additionally, we would like to thank those individuals that allowed us to interview them and get a first-hand look at the various waste tire management facilities and their operations. This was a vital part of our research process and we greatly appreciate the insight they were able to provide us. Finally, we would like to thank our advisors Seth Tuler and Stanley Selkow from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and our advisor Supawan Tantayanon from Chulalongkorn University. Their feedback on all aspects of our project was very valuable and helped to shape our project. We greatly appreciate their hours spent reading and editing our report. Our project would not be what it is without them. ii Executive Summary Approximately 600,000 tonnes of waste tires are generated annually in Thailand. If improperly disposed of, these waste tires have the potential to harm local environments and negatively affect human health. The most common problems associated with waste tires are open air fires and the creation of mosquito and pest habitats. Tire fires release carcinogens into the atmosphere, threatening public health. They are also are difficult to extinguish. Tire piles create an ideal breeding ground for rodents and mosquitoes, known carriers of illnesses like encephalitis and dengue fever, particularly in tropical climates. To combat the waste tire problem in Thailand, this project’s sponsor, Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency is seeking information for the purpose of recommending successful programs to regulate and manage these waste tires. The goal of this project, therefore, was to investigate different options for a viable long-term waste tire management strategy for Thailand. To accomplish this goal we completed the following objectives: 1) Characterize the waste tire problem, existing practices, and potential management strategies specific to Thailand. - We first focused on obtaining and characterizing Thailand-specific data about problems with waste tires, currently used waste management systems, and potential management strategies. 2) Evaluate waste tire processing technologies based on economic, social, environmental, political, and infrastructural factors applicable to Thailand. - Using available data, we were able to analyze and evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of commonly used technologies in a feasibility matrix based on economic, social, environmental, political, and infrastructural factors applicable to Thailand. These methods and technologies include landfilling, open dumping and open burning, retreading, reclamation, small-scale application, incineration for energy, and pyrolysis. 3) Evaluate potential waste tire management systems for Thailand based on United Nations Environment Programme guidelines. - We then evaluated the potential of various waste tire management systems based on guidelines supplied by the United Nations Environment Programme, which highlight the necessary components of a successful waste management program. This involved conducting case study comparisons between Thailand, the United States, and Japan. iii 4) Develop recommendations for future systems, technologies, and further research. - Based on our findings, we were able to develop recommendations that will assist the NSTDA in determining which methods for waste tire management should continue to be used and improved, which new methods should be developed and implemented, what information still needs to be gathered, and how to proceed with the collection of that information. In order to complete our four primary objectives we used a number of different methods. They included conducting interviews with experts on related topics as well as interviews and site visits at several waste tire management facilities in Thailand. Additionally, we created a feasibility matrix in order to analyze and evaluate waste tire processing technologies and used case study comparisons to draw conclusions about Thailand’s current waste tire management system when compared to the systems in place in the United States and Japan. The first step of our project involved identifying the problems that waste tires are creating in Thailand. A number of serious health and environmental concerns are associated with waste tire deposits. Waste tire piles can provide habitats for pests that inhabit the concavities within tires. The rodents and insects that breed within these piles have the potential to spread disease, particularly when waste tire piles are located near urban areas. These pests are known carriers of dangerous illnesses like encephalitis and dengue fever, which tend to be more prolific in nations like Thailand with tropical climates. In addition to this pest problem, large collections of tires can be serious fire hazards. Tire fires spread quickly, emit large amounts of heat, and are difficult to contain or extinguish. Additionally, if openly burned, tires emit large quantities of dangerous chemicals. Open air tire fires release carbon monoxide and carcinogens like benzene, polluting the air with toxic smoke and contaminating the local environment as the ash settles. Landfilling, the simplest form of waste tire management, reduces these environmental and health issues, but adds others. Though properly landfilled tires will not ignite or provide breeding grounds for rodents, a correctly constructed landfill costs a significant amount of money to build, and additional routine management expenses can become quite costly as well. This “solution” to the waste tire problem is now often considered another form of mismanagement, since tires need special attention in landfills due to their resistance to decomposition and compaction. Additionally, landfilling does not make use of these waste tires as a resource, instead treating them as a waste product. Disposal of waste tires through open dumping, open burning, or landfilling is a common practice in Thailand, and this management method currently accounts for approximately 63% of all waste tires. However, there are many alternative forms of iv waste tire management that make use of waste tires in a more economically and environmentally manner. Each of the following methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, which are described extensively in the full length report. Reusing waste tires for their originally intended purpose is an economical and environmentally conscious option. However, this process can only be applied to waste tires categorized as “repairable waste tires” rather than “scrap tires”. Retreading repairable waste tires is a highly economical option for waste tire management. Retreading is a safe, efficient process that involves removing the exterior treads on a tire and replacing them with new treads using heat and pressure. This process is similar to the process