title: Uncontrolled combustion of shredded tires in a landfill - Part 1: Characterization of gaseous and particulate emissions.
abstract: In summer 2012, a landfill liner comprising an estimated 1.3 million shredded tires burned in Iowa City, Iowa. During the fire, continuous monitoring and laboratory measurements were used to characterize the gaseous and particulate emissions and to provide new insights into the qualitative nature of the smoke and the quantity of pollutants emitted. Significant enrichments in ambient concentrations of CO, CO2, SO2, particle number (PN), fine particulate (PM2.5) mass, elemental carbon (EC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were observed. For the first time, PM2.5from tire combustion was shown to contain PAH with nitrogen heteroatoms (a.k.a. azaarenes) and picene, a compound previously suggested to be unique to coal-burning. Despite prior laboratory studies' findings, metals used in manufacturing tires (i.e. Zn, Pb, Fe) were not detected in coarse particulate matter (PM10) at a distance of 4.2 km downwind. Ambient measurements were used to derive the firstin situfuel-based emission factors (EF) for the uncontrolled open burning of tires, revealing substantial emissions of SO2(7.1 g kg-1), particle number (3.5×1016kg-1), PM2.5(5.3 g kg-1), EC (2.37 g kg-1), and 19 individual PAH (totaling 56 mg kg-1). A large degree of variability was observed in day-to-day EF, reflecting a range of flaming and smoldering conditions of the large-scale fire, for which the modified combustion efficiency ranged from 0.85-0.98. Recommendations for future research on this under-characterized source are also provided.
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
authors: Jared
authors: J
authors: Downard
authors: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
authors: Ashish
authors: A
authors: Singh
authors: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Bullard
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
authors: Thilina
authors: T
authors: Jayarathne
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
authors: Chathurika
authors: C
authors: Rathnayake
authors: State Hygienic Laboratory-Ankeny, The University of Iowa, Ankeny, IA 50023.
authors: Donald L
authors: DL
authors: Simmons
authors: State Hygienic Laboratory-Ankeny, The University of Iowa, Ankeny, IA 50023.
authors: Brian R
authors: BR
authors: Wels
authors: Public Policy Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
authors: Scott N
authors: SN
authors: Spak
authors: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Peters
authors: Johnson County Department of Public Health, Iowa City, IA.
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Beardsley
authors: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Stanier
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: Stone
keywords: Iowa City; PAH; azaarenes; emission factor; particle size distribution; tire fire