Short communication

Studies on potential emission of hazardous gases

due to uncontrolled open-air burning of waste vehicle tyres
and their possible impacts on the environment
Pawan R. Shakya
a,
*
, Pratima Shrestha
a
, Chirika S. Tamrakar
a
, Pradeep K. Bhattarai
b
a
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Bagbazar, Kathmandu, Nepal
b
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Bagbazar, Kathmandu, Nepal
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 December 2007
Received in revised form 30 March 2008
Accepted 2 April 2008
Keywords:
Environmental pollution
Hazardous gases
Kathmandu Valley
Scrap tyre
a b s t r a c t
Uncontrolled open-air burning of waste vehicle tyres causing environmental pollution has
become a popular practice in Nepal despite ofcial ban considering the environment and
public health hazards. In this study, an experimental model was set up in a laboratory scale
in an attempt to understand the potential emission of hazardous gases such as CO, SO
2
and
NO
2
due to such activities in Kathmandu Valley and their possible impacts on the environ-
ment. For this purpose, four types of tyre were collected representing two from passenger
car and two from motorbike category. The emission level of CO in the tyre smoke was mea-
sured with a CO gas detector tube while SO
2
and NO
2
were determined by UVvisible spec-
trophotometer. Among the three types of the gases analyzed, SO
2
was emitted in
signicantly high levels by all the representative tyre samples. The emission levels of
CO, SO
2
and NO
2
ranged from 21to 49, 102to 820 and 3to 9 mg g
1
, respectively. Results
revealed that the emission levels also varied with the tyre types and qualities. The poten-
tial emission of the hazardous gases per representative scrap tyre mass was also estimated.
Results indicate that the gaseous pollutants due to the tyre res could make a signicant
contribution for deterioration of the environmental condition of the Valley or elsewhere.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Vehicle tyres consist of a rubber compound usually
reinforced with steel and textile. Depending on their size
and utilization, tyres vary in design, construction and total
weight. They contain a total of approximately 1.5% by
weight of hazardous waste compounds (Basel Convention
Series, 1999). A large number of decomposition products
can be given off from the uncontrolled and open waste
tyre res (Lemieux and Ryan, 1993). Its effect on air, water
and soil is a major issue concerning the change in their
physical, chemical and biological characteristics (Best and
Brookes, 1981; Nelson et al., 1994). Hence, the tyre res
pose a serious public health and an environmental threat
(Cecich et al., 1996). The toxicological evaluation for the
hazard assessment of the waste tyre crumb has been
made (Birkholz et al., 2003).
Kathmandu with a population of 2.5 million is the cap-
ital of a developing country Nepal in South Asia. It is located
between 27

45
0
27

47
0
N latitude and 85

20
0
85

25
0
E
longitude. The environmental status of the Kathmandu Val-
ley is deteriorating due to the increased anthropogenic
activities, which is aggravated further by the frequent burn-
ing of waste tyres in an open air that is being considered as
one of the major contributing sources of pollution. Besides,
the increasing number of vehicles has raised the problemof
air quality due to vehicular emissions and a major environ-
mental issue on safe disposal of waste tyres in the Valley.
Moreover, there are no ofcial records on the quantitative
estimation of such tyres being reused or recycled in the Val-
ley. Apparently, the waste tyres are put to re in signicant
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 977 1 4218218; fax: 977 1 4258113.
E-mail address: pawansh2003@yahoo.com (P.R. Shakya).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Atmospheric Environment
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ at mosenv
1352-2310/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.04.013
Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 65556559
amount to barricade the main streets of the Valley particu-
larly during political agitation. Besides, some people also
make use of the waste tyres for cooking purpose as well
as to avoid chillness during winter in the Valley. Such activ-
ities are gaining momentumdespite the ofcial ban consid-
ering the environment and public health hazards. Hence,
the study in this related area becomes plausible consider-
ing the impacts of hazardous gases on the environment
and human health.
Many studies related with the atmospheric pollution
due to the transport, industrial and domestic sectors in
Kathmandu Valley are known (SOE, 1998; MOPE, 1999).
However, a little information is available concerning the
atmospheric pollution due to the gaseous pollutants such
as CO, SO
2
and NO
2
from the waste tyre res. Hence, the
aim of the present study was to understand the environ-
mental implications of the gaseous emission due to the
uncontrolled open-air burning of waste vehicle tyres that
frequently prevails in the Valley.
2. Experimental
2.1. Samplings, preparation of tyre samples and absorbing
reagents
Waste or used tyre samples were collected from tyre
repairing workshops. Two different types and qualities of
waste tyres of passenger car and two of motorbike category
were selected as representative tyre samples (Table 1). One
of the reasons for selecting these vehicle types as represen-
tative for the experimental purpose is that light vehicles
like passenger cars and motorbikes have major dominance
among many other vehicle categories that are plying in the
narrow streets of the Kathmandu Valley. Besides, the tyre
categories manufactured by the said companies (Table 1)
are largely used in the Valley considering them as of high
quality (Tyre company dealers, Kathmandu, personal com-
munication.). Obviously, waste tyres of such vehicles were
found burned during such activities as described. More-
over, the handling of such tyre types is easy due to their
weight and volume. Any adhered foreign materials were
removed from the tyre samples by washing, cleaning and
shade drying. A little portion of each of the samples was
cut into ne pieces so that they could be burned easily
during analysis.
All the chemical reagents of analytical grade were pur-
chased from E. Merck, India. Potassium tetrachloromercu-
rate (TCM) and sulfanilic acid which are the absorbing
solutions, respectively, for SO
2
and NO
2
were prepared as
described in ASTM Designation: D 2914-91 (1992) and
ASTM Designation: D 1607-91 (1992).
2.2. Determination of carbon monoxide (CO)
The Indicator Tube Method (ASTMDesignation: D4490-
90, 1992) was used to measure the COemission. Accurately,
2.0 g of the tyre sample was burned in a porcelain basin.
Then, the CO level emitted in the tyre smoke was measured
by sucking xed volume of smoke through the detector
tube (GV 100, GASTEC, Japan). The change in the color
of the graduated tube indicates the concentration of CO
prevailed in the smoke.
2.3. Determination of sulphur dioxide (SO
2
) and nitrogen
dioxide (NO
2
)
The WestGaeke Method was followed for SO
2
determi-
nation (ASTM Designation: D 2914-91, 1992) and the
GriessSaltzman Reaction for NO
2
(ASTM Designation: D
1607-91, 1992).
2.3.1. Experimental set up
Initially, an experimental model was designed with
a purpose of determining SO
2
and NO
2
simultaneously us-
ing the set of apparatus as shown in the schematic diagram
(Fig. 1). The outlet of the funnel with an internal diameter of
about 12 cm was tted in series with the SO
2
and NO
2
absorbing tubes. Of the two tubes connected in series, the
rst tube was purposed for potassium tetrachloromercu-
rate (TCM) as SO
2
absorbing reagent and the second was
for sulfanilic acid as NO
2
absorbing reagent. An air pump
tted with variable owmeter was also connected in series
at the end to suck the gases emitted from the tyre res.
2.3.2. SO
2
and NO
2
samplings
Each 25 ml of TCM and sulfanilic acid solutions were
taken separately into the respective absorbing tubes.
Then, one of the accurately weighed tyre samples (2.0 g)
was burned in a porcelain basin. It was immediately kept
under the funnel (approximately 57 cm below) and the
air pump was operated to suck the gases emitted from
the burning of the sample. The suction of the smoke was
continued till the burning sample turned into ash (about
1030 min). The suction ow was well regulated at the
rate of 0.4 L min
1
. The temperature of the absorbing solu-
tion was kept below25

C using ice bath. The emitted gases
were absorbed successively through the TCM solution rst
and then through sulfanilic acid solution. Finally, the sam-
ple solutions were transferred into the 25 ml capacity vol-
umetric asks and the volume was adjusted up to the mark
with the respective absorbing solutions, if required. Further
samplings of the tyre samples were carried out in a similar
way.
2.3.3. Spectrophotometric measurements
Quantication of the SO
2
and NO
2
concentration was
carried out by UVvisible spectrophotometer (Genesys
10 Series, 1901100 nm, Thermo Spectronic, UK). Initially,
the spectrophotometer was calibrated following the proce-
dure as described in ASTM Designations: D 2914-91 (1992)
and D 1607-91 (1992), respectively, before the measure-
ment of absorbance for the SO
2
and NO
2
in the samples.
For the SO
2
measurement, 10 ml of the exposed sample
Table 1
Description of representative tyre samples
Sample
no.
Types of vehicle
tyres
Manufacturing
company/country
Abbreviation
1 Passenger car Yin Zhu/China CYCN
2 Passenger car Samyang/South Korea CSKR
3 Motorbike TVS/India BTIN
4 Motorbike Bridgestone/Japan BBJP
P.R. Shakya et al. / Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 65556559 6556
was taken in 25 ml volumetric ask and treated with form-
aldehyde and puried PRA (Pararosaniline) solution where
violet color was developed that gives optimum absorbance
at 575 nm. Similarly, the azo dye forming reagent (sulfanilic
acid solution containing N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine
dihydrochloride) produced a red-violet color with NO
2
that gives an optimum absorbance at 550 nm. Hence, the
absorbance of the samples was measured at 575 nm for
SO
2
and at 550 nm for NO
2
. The selection of the measuring
wavelengths was carried out as recommended by the
ASTM.
The concentrations of the SO
2
and NO
2
in the respective
samples were calculated using the working formula below.
C
C
s
VD
W
Where, C concentration of SO
2
or NO
2
(mg g
1
), C
s

concentration of SO
2
or NO
2
(mg ml
1
), V nal volume of
respective absorbing reagent (ml), Ddilution factor and
WWt. of the tyre sample taken (g).
3. Results and discussion
The emission levels of CO from CYCN, CSKR, BTIN and
BBJP representative tyres were 49, 29, 25 and 21 mg g
1
,
respectively (Fig. 2). It was noted that the levels varied
quantitatively with the tyre types and qualities as well.
The variation was signicant between the car tyre cate-
gories than that of the motorbike. Accordingly, CYCN
showed considerably higher CO emission than that of
CSKR. Similarly, some higher emissionlevel of COwas found
in BTIN compared to BBJP. The order of the tested tyre sam-
ples emitting CO levels was as CYCN>CSKR >BTIN>BBJP.
Despite the fact that burning of the same quantity of each
sample was carried out applying the identical experimental
conditions, the observed levels of CO from different
samples were found to vary signicantly and in CYCN
it was found exceptionally high. Such variation at iden-
tical experimental conditions could be possible only
when either the composition of the tyre or the moisture
content (not analyzed) or both varies from sample to
sample. It infers that there exists a kind of variation
either in the composition or in the moisture content
or in both among the selected samples of the tyres.
Results showed that SO
2
emission (Fig. 3) from CYCN,
CSKR, BTIN and BBJP tyre samples was found to be 102,
690, 764 and 820 mg g
1
, respectively. It was found that
the emission levels were signicantly higher compared to
that of CO in all the tested tyre res. The emission levels
also varied quantitatively with the tyre types and quali-
ties like that of CO but the mode of emission followed
opposite trend. In other words, the order of the tested
BASIN WITH SAMPLE
TIN FUNNEL
AIR FILTER
SO
2
-TUBE
AIR BOTTLE
AIR PUMP
NO
2
-TUBE
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of an experimental set up for SO
2
and NO
2
determination in laboratory.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
CYCN CSKR BTIN BBJP
Tyre samples
C
O

g
a
s

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
u
g
/
g
)
Fig. 2. CO gas emission from representative tyre samples; values in each bar
are mean S.D. (n 3).
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
CYCN CSKR BTIN BBJP
Tyre samples
S
O
2

g
a
s

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
u
g
/
g
)
Fig. 3. SO
2
gas emission from representative tyre samples; values in each
bar are mean S.D. (n 3).
P.R. Shakya et al. / Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 65556559 6557
tyre samples emitting SO
2
levels was found to be
CYCN<CSKR <BTIN<BBJP. The emissionof SO
2
was found
very lowin CYCNthan the others. Despite the fact that some
experimental errors in the analysis may cause a signicant
variation in the results while analyzing in trace level, how-
ever, the emission of the low level of SO
2
in CYCN was
conrmed by carrying out triplicate analysis (all three
sets of experiment revealed almost the same levels of
SO
2
emission). Therefore, it can be concluded that the
amount of the sulphur in CYCN should be proportion-
ately low. The technical report of the Basel Convention
Series (1999) reveals that the sulphur content of tyres
(approx. 1%) is comparable to a low sulphur content
coal or very low sulphur content fuel oil and, therefore,
the level of the sulphur dioxide is as low as these other
fuels. Besides, it was noteworthy that while the emission
level of SO
2
was high, the CO level was proportionately
low and vice versa (compare Figs. 2 and 3). It seems,
therefore that the emission levels were dependent on
the material compositions of the tyres. In other words
the difference in the emission levels of the CO and SO
2
should be due to the variable composition ratio between
the carbon and sulphur contents in the tyres.
Fig. 4 shows that NO
2
emission due to CYCN, CSKR, BTIN
and BBJP tyre samples was 9, 3, 8 and 6 mg g
1
, respectively.
The emission levels were quantitatively negligible com-
pared to that of COand SO
2
. However, the mode of emission
was similar to that of CO. The ndings are in agreement
with the report of the MWH New Zealand Ltd (2004). The
gaseous emission in such negligible levels may probably
be due to the combination of atmospheric nitrogen and
oxygen during the combustion process rather than from
the tyre itself.
Based on the above experimental ratio in the laboratory
scale, the potential emission of CO, SO
2
and NO
2
in the en-
vironment from an entire representative scrap tyre mass
was also estimated (Table 2). The weights of CYCN, CSKR,
BTIN and BBJP scrap tyres were found to be approximately
6.5, 6.5, 2.0 and 2.5 kg, respectively (Tyre repairing work-
shops, personal communication.). Hence, CO, SO
2
and NO
2
levels to be emitted through complete burning of the rep-
resentative tyre samples would proportionately increase
with their respective scrap tyre masses. Accordingly, SO
2
emission can be expected in signicantly high level of all
in the environment from the scrap tyre re. The results in
Table 2 suggest that the probable common source of the
hazardous gases in the environment in the Kathmandu Val-
ley is due to the uncontrolled tyre res. However, these
decomposition products are extensive and may vary
depending on a variety of factors such as tyre type, burn
rate, pile size, ambient temperature and humidity (Basel
Convention Series, 1999). There are several studies related
with atmospheric pollution due to vehicular emissions.
Regarding the work on emissions due to the tyre res,
very little information is available in literatures. Hence,
the results of the study are not much likely to be compared
with other sources of pollutants. However, the tyre re may
be one of the potential sources of the gaseous pollutants.
Uncontrolled open-air burning of waste tyres is poten-
tially dangerous since it poses a serious public health and
an environmental threat. The effect of the tyre res on air
is a major concern, because they release potentially hazard-
ous gases such as CO, SO
2
and NO
2
as well as mono- and
polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in the smoke plume along
with many other combustion products (Lemieux and Ryan,
1993). CO is formed whenever carbon or substances con-
taining carbon are burned with an insufcient air supply.
Even when the amount of air is theoretically sufcient,
the reaction is not always complete, so that the combustion
gases contain some free oxygen and some carbon monox-
ide. In other words, carbon combines with air upon com-
bustion to form carbon dioxide, which again gets reduced
to form carbon monoxide due to the presence of carbon
particles in the burning tyre. Hence, the tyre res, apart
fromintense heat, give off thick black smoke with COemis-
sion of varying degrees of noxiousness. Besides, it also con-
tributes to smog (Palmer, 1974). Similarly, SO
2
is often
considered a primary precursor of acidic precipitation. It
reacts with oxygen in the air to become sulphur trioxide,
which then reacts with water in the air to form sulphuric
acid. The oxidation of sulphur dioxide is most widespread
in clouds and particularly in greatly polluted air where
there are abundant amounts of ammonia and ozone, which
act as catalysts in the formation of sulphuric acid from SO
2
(Treebox, 2004). Not all the SO
2
becomes sulphuric acid, as
a lot of it oats up into the atmosphere and is transported
to other areas and returns to earth unchanged. Likewise,
NO
2
can become an important component of urban haze
and plays an important role in the atmospheric reactions
that generate ozone. Nitrogen oxides (NO
x
) usually enter
the air as the result of high-temperature combustion
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
CYCN CSKR BTIN BBJP
Tyre samples
N
O
2

g
a
s

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
u
g
/
g
)
Fig. 4. NO
2
gas emission from representative tyre samples; values in each
bar are mean S.D. (n 3).
Table 2
Potential emission of hazardous gases from each representative scrap tyre
Gas types Gas emission (kg) per representative scrap tyre
a
CYCN CSKR BTIN BBJP
CO 3.19 10
4
1.89 10
4
5.00 10
5
5.25 10
5
SO
2
6.60 10
4
4.49 10
3
1.53 10
3
2.05 10
3
NO
2
6.00 10
5
2.00 10
5
1.60 10
5
1.50 10
5
a
The gure in the columns denotes an estimated gas emission from
each representative scrap tyre through complete burning. The values are
presented on the basis of the experimental ratio and the reference weight
of each scrap tyre mass as: CYCN (6.5 kg), CSKR (6.5 kg), BTIN (2.0 kg) and
BBJP (2.5 kg).
P.R. Shakya et al. / Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 65556559 6558
processes, such as those occurring in automobiles and
power plants (Palmer, 1974). NO
2
like SO
2
rise into the at-
mosphere and are oxidized in clouds to form nitric acid.
Very polluted clouds where traces of manganese, hydrogen
peroxide and iron are present provide catalysts for these re-
actions. Acid rain can slowly kill animal populations in
lakes and rivers. Besides, it can also kill trees and other
plants by damaging leaves and root systems. When acid
rain falls, the acidic rainwater dissolves the nutrients and
helpful materials from the soil (Treebox, 2004). These min-
erals are then washed away before trees and other plants
can use them to grow. The effects of acid rain are not only
local, but they can occur hundreds of miles from the sour-
ces of NO
2
and SO
2
.
The present study is probably the rst of its kind in
the related area in a developing country like Nepal where
the uncontrolled open-air burning of waste tyres is pop-
ularly practiced during political agitation. The study is
expected to provide background information for redress-
ing the environmental pollution due to the tyre res.
Moreover, it may also provide a guideline for further
investigation in the related areas elsewhere in developing
countries. A future work, however, will be needed to
study in the related area to assess the contribution of
waste tyre res along with many other anthropogenic
sources and their impacts on the environment in the
Valley or elsewhere.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge nancial assistance fromthe
University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal without which
the present work would not have been possible. We would
also like to thank Nepal Environmental and Scientic
Services (NESS) for providing us the laboratory facilities.
We cannot also remain silent without thanks to all the
staffs of Faculty of Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus,
Tribhuvan University, Nepal for the encouragement and
valuable support.
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