Determination of physical and chemical properties of waste tyres in usage/storage areas

Abstract

Used tyres interact with soil, water and the atmosphere during temporary or permanent storage and also when used as additive or paving materials in landscapes, asphalt, concrete and for coastal protection. Various organic and inorganic compounds can penetrate into the environment from used tyres at various rates dependent on climatic and soil conditions. In this study, laboratory leaching batch experiments were conducted to determine the heavy metals and other constituents that could possibly penetrate into the leachate created during tyre usage/storage. The results obtained in this study showed that tyres were dissolved due to their usage and the climatic and environmental conditions thus leading to soil and groundwater pollution in their usage/reuse/storage/disposal areas. Zinc concentrations were the highest among the heavy metals measured in the simulated leachate. The average weight loss for all tyre samples was calculated as 3.6‰.