Making Tyre-Derived Materials a Commodity: A Comparison of the ASTM & CEN Standards MICHAEL BLUMENTHAL PRESIDENT, MARSHAY, INC. PRESENTED TO THE NEW ZEALAND SCRAP TYRE SUMMIT JUNE 3, 2015 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence
Why are Standards Necessary? ASTM standards are recognized and accepted and can be used in court The US scrap tyre industry had a credibility problem in the early years: terms were being used without references Buyers were concerned about differences between what was promised and what was delivered Industry was facing many competitors whose materials had ASTM standards
ASTM Standards for Ground Rubber 2 standards for ground rubber were developed in 1992 1992 was the first time that scrap tires were used as feed stock for ground rubber. Tire buffings, a byproduct of tire retreading, were the dominate material at that time. Developed as part of an effort by the RMA & NRC to get recycled materials onto the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The effort failed, but the industry was able to standardize terminology and testing practices. Written by the F11 committee The two standards have not been updated since 1992. There was an effort to update the standards 2011-2013 but there was very little input from the US ground rubber industry
ASTM Standards for Ground Rubber D5603-01: Standard Classification for Rubber Compounding Materials: Recycled Vulcanizate Particulate Rubber Terminology; Sizing of particles; Sampling procedures; Testing and Density How to run the tests to determine the size of the ground rubber D5644-01: Standard Classification for Rubber Compounding Materials: Determination of Particle Size Distribution of Recycled Vulcanizate Particular Rubber This standard was developed to establish the acceptable range of sizes in any size of ground rubber (10 mesh, 20 mesh, 30 mesh, etc.)
ASTM Standard on Tire Derived Fuel D6700-13: Standard Practice for Use of Scrap Tire-Derived Fuel Developed in 1996 Written at a time when TDF was becoming more refined: effort was to get rid of the term Nominal which was widely used but not a well defined term Last updated in 2012 Written by Michael Blumenthal, Mark Hope & Terry Gray
D6700-13 Definitions Fuel analysis Sampling Testing procedures Particle sizing In 2016 the Standard should be updated to define smaller sized TDF
ASTM Standard for Asphalt Rubber Asphalt-Rubber as defined by ASTM D4, ASTM D6114 Asphalt-Rubber is a blend of asphalt cement, reclaimed tire rubber and certain additives, in which the rubber component is at least 15% by weight of the total blend and has reacted in the hot asphalt cement sufficiently to cause swelling of the rubber particles This is known as hot mix, Arizona mix or the McDonald Process Standard was developed between 1988 1996: The process to update this standard started in December 2014
D5644-01 Terminology Testing procedures Particle distribution This standard cannot be changed to include other asphalt technologies which include ground tire rubber (warm mix, terminal blend). Warm mix will be performance graded (which AR is not) and terminal blending remains patented, which disallows it from having an ASTM standard
ASTM Standard: Tire Derived Aggregate D6270-13: Standard Practice for Use of Scrap Tires in Civil Engineering Applications Developed in 1996 Written, in part, as a result of the 2 internal heating episodes in Washington. Includes the guidelines for preventing hot spots. Since this document was written there have not been any other internal heating episodes Written by Dr. Dana Humphrey & Michael Blumenthal Updated in 2013
ASTM Standard: Tire-Derived Aggregate Definitions Particle size Material characteristics Construction practices Leachate Material properties MSDS
ASTM Std: Loose Fill Playground Rubber F3012 - Standard Specification for Loose-Fill Rubber for Use as a Playground Safety Surface under and around Playground Equipment: ASTM Volume 15.07 Developed by Committee F08.63 and finalized in 2013, supported by efforts of ISRI & RMA Developed as a response to market challenges (competing materials have ASTM specs) and concerns about human/environmental health concerns The ASTM standard hasn t reduced concerns by some of the public but does address industrial concerns
ASTM Std: Loose Fill Playground Rubber Terminology Performance requirements Sampling Testing Size requirements Metal & fluff content There are many non-astm reports on human/health issues
ASTM Standard for Infill Rubber Being developed in the F08.65 subcommittee Currently has a ballot out for impact test which proposes lowering HIC & Gmax thresholds Discussions ongoing for new test method to measure infill depths Last meeting was May 2015 Benefit of an ASTM standard is to assist industry in standardizing material, have a bench-mark for comparison and compete against other infill materials
ASTM Standard for Rubber Infill Terminology Performance requirements Sampling Testing Size requirements Metal & fluff content
Conclusions The development of the ASTM standards for tire-derived removed an obstacle impeding the growth of markets and provides acceptable bench-marks ASTM standards gave legitimacy to the industry The ASTM standards place tire-derived materials on an equal level with competing materials The sale of ground rubber remains predominately an agreement between buyer & seller; ASTM standards provide a base line reference There remains the use of terms within the industry that are accepted and understood, but not consistent with the ASTM definitions: this still causes some confusion to outsiders Overall, the ASTM process has been a positive factor to our industry which should continue to be supported
CEN: The European Process The European Union has developed a series of standards for tire-derived materials: the standard setting organization is referred to as CEN CEN TS14243 characterizes the different materials derived from end of life tires in terms of dimensions (ELT cuts, shreds, chips, granulates and powders) and impurities (steel & textile) using (EU) harmonized methods of sampling and testing. The CEN TS 14243 standards were introduced in 2008 Work is on-going in CEN TC366 to validate and expand CEN TS14243 into an EU standard and to develop standards related to certain physical, composition characteristics of the materials produced from ELTs as well as to determine general properties of whole tires as required for further processing
Why Are EU Standards Being Updated? The lack of standardization in the tyre recovery field is a threat for the existing markets and a barrier for accessing new ones Without specific standards, tyre derived materials are often compared with other substitute materials, or "virgin materials", by means of improper testing methods that sometimes are not even suitable for rubber based goods The development of EU standards contributes to a significant increase of the quality level of tyre derived products while opening the market to new applications, promoting technology exchanges and access to know how
CEN has Established 4 Working Groups CEN/TC 366 / WG1 is working on the standard for ground rubber Determination of particle size for shreds (including sampling methods both laboratory and "in the field") Determination of particle size in powders, granulates and chips (including sampling methods both laboratory and "in the field") Determination of protruding wires in shreds Determination of free steel content for granulates and powder Determination of other impurities for granulates and powder
CEN/TC 366 WG2 Establishing standards for certain physical characteristics of the materials produced from ELTs Classification of materials produced from tyre. Terminology and characteristics Bulk density for shreds Bulk density for granulates and powder Bulk density for textile Bulk density for steel Determination of surface and geometry of granulates Determination of specific surface for granulates Determination of specific surface for powder Determination of hydraulic conductivity, permeability, settlement and compressibility for shreds Abrasion resistance of granulates
CEN/TC 366 WG3 Establishing standards for certain composition characteristics of the materials produced from ELTs Determination of NR/synthetic rubber in vulcanize material Determination of type of rubber (tyres and other scraped rubbers) Determination of non elastomeric content in rubber Determination of Carbon Black content in rubber Sampling method for elemental analysis Determination of moisture content for granulates, powder and textile fraction Determination of non metallic content for steel
CEN/TC 366 WG4 Standard on TDA Establishing standards for certain physical characteristics of whole tyres that are required in recovery and recycling processes. Quality criteria for the selection of whole tyres, for recovery and recycling processes. Characteristics of whole tyres for their use in Civil Engineering applications (porosity, crushing resistance).
CEN TC 343 Standard on TDF There is no one standard specific to ELT but some of then could be apply for determination of some characteristics of Tyre Derived Fuels. EN 15359:2011 EN 15400:2011 CEN/TS15401:2010 EN 15442:2011 CEN/TR 15591:2007 the 14C method Solid recovered fuels - Specifications and classes Solid recovered fuels - Determination of calorific value. Solid recovered fuels - Determination of bulk density Solid recovered fuels - Methods for sampling Solid recovered fuels - Determination of the biomass content based on
Infill & Playground Standards Infill (synthetic sport surfaces) CEN/TC 217Sport Surfaces / WG 10 Environmental Aspects: CEN TS 16384 Synthetic Sport System for Outdoor Leaching Test Playground Cover Activities on the field of Sports, playground and other recreational facilities and equipment are covered in the CEN TC 136 Main Standard related ELT material is EN 1177:2008 Impact attenuating playground surfacing - Determination of critical fall height
Implications Most of the CEN standards will look at the same characteristics as the ASTM standards Many of the CEN standards will conduct tests which have already been established by ASTM The CEN standards propose to analyze certain components of ELTs which significant variations (carbon black, synthetic rubber) CEN testing requirements could be expensive, which could actually be counterproductive to their goals The changing composition of tyres could present significant challenges to the CEN testing standards, rendering them almost useless If testing protocols are used by CEN are different than the ASTM testing protocols then the results, and subsequent standards will be different
ASTM Standards vs. CEN Standards Two sets of standards on the same material (tires) which are similar but have clear distinctions The new/revised CEN standards are expected by the end of 2015 ASTM standards do not present information on the chemical or physical properties of tires; this information is available through other sources. The CEN standards will include information not in the ASTM standards Coordination of these standards should take place so there aren t significant differences which could cause questions or difficulties within the international tire recycling industry
Contact Information Michael Blumenthal President Marshay, Inc. On the web: scraptireexpert.com Email: marshayinc@gmail.com 845 642 3130