I am looking for any information on exothermic reactions, or fires, occurring in the process of shredding discarded tires when the material is being reduced to shreds (chunks ranging up to 10 inches in size) used for road construction and landfills; ¾ inch size for cushioning of playgrounds, etc.; 10 mesh (about the size of large grains of sand); or 30 mesh (a powder); or during storage of the processed materials.

I am aware of Babrauskas’s writings and Humphrey’s work on heating of the chunks in road construction, backfills and landfills, but have not come across anything showing problems during the actual process of reducing the tires to the various size products or their storage after processing.

Australia apparently had problems years ago where they used equipment not designed for recycling tires. That problem went away after switching to machines specifically designed for tires with better removal of the steel belt fragments.

Any information or thoughts on this project will be most appreciated.

Cy Holmes, cyholmes@frontiernet.net, 916-685-7585, 685-4276 (Fax) 8794 San Pedro Way, Elk Grove, CA 95624