Burning Tires

We reported a while back about the Lafarge company--who make concrete, and their desire to burn used tires at their plant along the Duwamish; they ran additional tests in December of last year::

...They make great fuel to generate the heat necessary to produce concrete to build all of those roads and big ugly buildings; check out the visual on top of this blog page: that is what a concrete factory looks like.. Tires are very important for the perpetuation and destruction of Western civilization. But if the emissions are above .40%, as were Lafarge's during the tests, you're shit outta luck for the time being.

And, SOL for a while, according to the news release passed on from Lafarge:

Lafarge conducted both rounds of emissions tests on their cement kiln when adding whole tires to the kiln fuel mix. As with the first test, measured dioxin levels during the December, 2007 test exceeded EPA-established limits for cement plants. Measured dioxin concentrations when burning whole tires and coal were also higher than when burning only coal...

Both the July and December emission tests also provided information on additional pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), formaldehyde, and mercury. This data is used to assess whether emission limits are needed for these pollutants as a part of future permit reviews.

Background: Lafarge is interested in receiving approval for burning whole tires as part of their kiln fuel mix. Their air permit allows for trial periods to test various levels of tire fuel substitution while measuring pollutant emissions. Test periods are limited to 15 days by EPA regulations – a time period needed to stabilize operational conditions, and complete the necessary emission testing. The Clean Air Agency will not authorize burning whole tires until compliance is demonstrated through required testing...

Dioxin emissions during all tire substitution tests to date increased over the baseline results and were higher than the allowable levels under the EPA's rule for hazardous air pollutants for cement plants. That result means that Lafarge presently has no authorization to use whole tires as a fuel substitute, other than during specified testing periods...

So, there you have it. But it appears they'll keep trying:

Lafarge has hired an engineering consultant with experience in combustion chemistry and dioxin emission performance to advise them on which operational variables need to be addressed before completing another test of the whole tire system. The conclusion of that evaluation has not yet been provided to this Agency, but Lafarge has tentatively scheduled another whole tire test for May 28-29, 2008.