Scrap Vehicle Tires 1.0
At Cash 4 Cars Akron we buy junk cars, paying money for a junk car in any condition. Salvage car buyers have been impacted by the recent decline in the value of a scrap car which stems from the drop in market commodity pricing. Our latest installment here in our blog discussing auto scrap and recycling will cover the topic of scrap vehicle tires. Salvage car buyers everywhere share the same problem associated with proper disposal of worn out vehicle tires. It is not as simple as merely putting them in the trash. Finding a disposal solution for these is not that easy because they require environmentally mandated restrictions and they certainly cannot be buried or burned.
Scrap Tire News (scraptirenews.com) has a very detailed report about how tires are recycled. The initial aspect that we will analyze is the process of creating tire-derived fuel (TDF) as follows: “A major use for scrap tires is fuel. (TDF) may be generated using whole tire or tires processed into uniform pieces that meet the specifications of the end-user. They are used as fuel either shredded or whole depending on the type of combustion unit. TDF is the oldest & most advanced market for scrap tires in U.S. industrial sites such as cement kilns, pulp and paper mills and electric utilities. This fuel acts as a supplemental fuel to increase boiler efficiency, decrease emissions & lower costs. Over 52% of the 300M units generated annually are consumed in these sites as a clean and economical alternative fuel.
The U.S. EPA described TDF as a high Btu-value fuel with lower emissions, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, than other traditional fuels. These units make an excellent fuel because of their high heat value. The heating value of an average size passenger unit is between 13K and 15K BTU/lb., which compares with about 10K to 12K/lb. for coal. The primary reason for using these fuels is to lower costs. Another major reason for combusting tires as fuel is to decrease the volume of units disposed in landfills or stockpiles. Nationally scrap tires represent a potential energy source of 1.01 quadrillion BTU per year– equivalent to 17M barrels of crude oil. Clearly, these units compete with comparable traditional fuels including coal, petroleum and wood.
While some combustion units such as cement kilns can accept tires whole, most require the units to be processed to certain sizes & purity to ensure consistency for the user. Shredding these uses standard processing technology including shredding and removing dirt and contaminants. There are (2) steps: chipping/shredding and metal removal. Each one is either fed into the shredder whole or have the beads removed prior to shredding. Scrap passenger and truck units up to 48 inches in outside diameter can be initially reduced to pieces ranging in size from 1” to 4”, depending on the end-use. For TDF, whole tires are reduced to 2” pieces; magnetic separators are required to remove the steel and a screen controls the shred/chip size and larger material is re-circulated back to the shredder.” To read the complete report, visit this link.
There are 3 critical reasons the recycling of tires is critical in the scrap and salvage car buyer market:
- The units take up too much physical space whether in storage, landfills etc…
- When stored, they can gather water & moisture creating potentially toxic run-off and thus creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes
- The recycling of scrap auto tires has lagged behind the development of most other aspects of auto recycling; most car buyers and others who face managing high volumes of these units must pay for removal.
Due to the seriousness of the issue, we will address this topic on an ongoing basis. It is a major benefit to our country to have cost-effective and simplistic recycling solutions for these potentially toxic and cumbersome units. The science in this aspect of recycling is currently evolving and it is long overdue.
Cash 4 Cars Akron is a salvage car buyer and is among the car buyers who uphold an eco-friendly set of best practices in the industry. Those seeking money for a junk car in Northeast Ohio, including the counties of Summit, Portage and Medina are encouraged to contact us for a price quote for the value of a scrap car. Obtaining money for a junk car is much faster and easier with Cash 4 Cars Akron. We buy junk cars 6 days a week and our junk vehicle buyer is awaiting your call!
