ABSTRACT
The abatement of environmental problems is one of the biggest challenges of technology today. Strategies for reuse of waste polymeric material can lead to a direct reduction of the disposable waste in landfills. Among the several polymeric materials, waste tire in landfill
is a major concern because yearly, in the U.S., 279 million tires are discarded with another 300 million stockpiled in large, open areas. Since waste rubber is poorly degradable in a landfill environment, material and energy recovery are better alternatives to disposal. Solutions have centered around retreading and deriving fuel from rubber tires, incinerating rubber tires for pyrolyzed gas and carbon black, using rubber tires in marine environments as barrier reefs, mixing the shredded rubber tires with asphalt, and mixing rubber particles in concrete mixes. In the first part of this chapter, we review the various solutions in
mixing technique for preparing rubberized asphalt that have led to better material performance will also be discussed. We present observations on the use of tire particles as replacement aggregates for low-strength concrete material. The importance of surface treatment of powdered tire rubber to increase its adhesion to cement paste is examined. Finally, novel applications for scrap tire as additives for commingled plastics are also described.
