All samples and mixes studied were treated successfully. The products produced were either ashes or vitrified materials, depending on the application. In the United States, there are approximately 250 million tires discarded annually and there already exists in excess of 3 billion used tires, currently being stockpiled. This can result in a variety of problems along with important health and environmental concerns. For example, tires in landfills do not biodegrade readily and are buoyant, which can cause them to rise to the surface at landfills and breach landfill covers.
Stockpiled tires can also catch fire easily as well as result in soil, water and air pollution.
In addition, they can also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and vermin. This also produces activated surfaces that when combined with new rubber, yields a composite with excellent properties. Recently, this technology has been combined with a bio-remediation technology to produce a new and even more effective treatment, called BioWave processing of tires. Summary The Tandem Microwave Waste Treatment System represents a very flexible waste treatment concept, that has the potential of processing a wide range of hazardous materials and providing another important tool to our arsenal of waste management and remediation technologies. OH, and published, in Environmental Issues and Waste Management Technologies in the Ceramic and Nuclear Industries IV , J.C. Marra and G.T. Chandler, eds., Vol.