PROGRAMME

The disposal of used vehicle tyres at the end of their life time, is a significant environmental concern for several countries. Although, there is specific legislative framework, regulating their collection and disposal, after these are replaced, there are several options for further processing. In the framework of circular economy, recovery methods and new applications for the material are available. Waste to energy methods are also proposed and used. However, for every choice, there are connected environmental impacts that have to be investigated and assessed. This work presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the generation of electricity by using oil that have been produced by pyrolysis of vehicle tyres material at the end of their life. The four phases of a LCA study, according to ISO 14040 are implemented. The system under study starts from the receipt of shredded used tyres, and includes the pyrolysis process, the electricity generation and the management of by-products, pollutants and waste for a case study about a unit designed to operate in Cyprus. The functional unit is 1 MWh of produced electricity. A detailed Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) is presented and moreover, by applying the CML 2001 impact characterization method, the acidification potential, the eutrophication potential, the global warming potential, the ozone depletion potential, the photochemical ozone creation potential, the marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential, the human toxicity potential, the freshwater aquatic and the terrestrial ecotoxicity potential, the depletion of abiotic resources – fossil fuels potential and the depletion of abiotic resources – elements, ultimate reserves potential are calculated for the electricity generated at the unit by using produced on site tyre pyrolysis oil. A contribution analysis is also presented and the results are interpreted and discussed, therefore specific conclusions and recommendations for environmental optimization of the processes are formulated.