Suitability of shredded tyres as a substitute for a landfill leachate collection medium.
A series of tests were conducted to investigate the fate of heavy metals and gasoline components in a simulated landfill, consisting of a 30 cm thick clay liner and a leachate collection layer containing tyres as well as in two test cells installed in a landfill. Arsenic, selenium, mercury, barium, and lead concentrations were lower while zinc concentration was higher in the tank containing tyre-chips than the tank without tyre-chips. When samples were filtered, however, concentrations of zinc as well as other inorganics were lower in the tank containing tyre-chips, indicating that metals in the leachate exposed to tyre-chips travel more slowly in a subsurface environment due to filtering effect. In a test cell study, arsenic, cobalt, lead and nickel concentrations were lower in the cell containing tyre-chips than in the cell without tyre-chips, except iron and zinc. Both tests indicate that some inorganic contaminants are sorbed to tyre-chips. Gasoline components were also significantly sorbed by tyre-chips in field cell tests. Although tyre-chips are known to leach organic and inorganic contaminants, concentrations in field conditions will be lower than the reported experimental results since the tests were performed under worst-case scenarios. If tyre-chips are used in areas where contamination levels are high, then they can be used as a sorbent for environmental clean-up.
Park
Jae K
JK
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. park@engr.wisc.edu
Edil
Tuncer B
TB
Kim
Jae Y
JY
Huh
Mock
M
Lee
Sung Ho
SH
Lee
Jung Jun
JJ
D000327:Adsorption; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005374:Filtration; D008422:Materials Testing; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012408:Rubber; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D014872:Water Movements; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D012408:Rubber