What would the affects be on crops caused by a tire to energy plant?

Question

burns tires converts to enrgy

Answer 1

Basically what is your problem? Where is connection between Tyre, energy plant and crop? If you have something in mind, you should make it clear.

Tyre is basically rubber, which burns releasing lot of carbon. Initially it will repeal insect but too much of it may damage your crop.

Answer 2

Butch, Energy plants that are burning tires (chipped up into small pieces) are recycling energy. They are made up of primarily petroleum products, not pure rubber for a long time now. The plants doing this are primarily coal burning plants and have improved the quality of the atmospheric emissions over what they used to be. I don't think you have any need to worry about your crops at all.

Answer 3

There are hidden in this question a number of alternatives:

a:  Burn the tires in a plant near me vs burn them in a plant far away

b: Allow the tires to accumulate unburned until the collection yard catches fire, and they burn in  the open air,

c: Find a way to recycle tires, perhaps a new kind of tire, such that it retains the material for  ongoing use.

d: Stop using tires on vehicles.

I am all for c: go ahead with that one right away.

d: seems like an environment friendly option if you can get political will organized.

b: We have tried that. We really did not like the outcome. If we question burning at high temperatures we will find open air burning bad beyond imagining.

Until we get option c: we are stuck with the NIMBY option, claiming damages and suing the pants off the company that is keeping us from using option b:

The lime plant east of London,Canada got a permit to burn tires at very elevated temperatures, right after we had a major incident with option b: near Hagersville, Ontario.

Their smokestack puts any residue high into the air so that agriculture immediately around the plant is less affected than lands further out. So that would suggest you would prefer to be very close rather than 60 km away.

So, how bad is it 60 km away? It does nothing good for air quality, but in the zone where its return to ground level would be expected to be felt most strongly, nobody is noticing it. There certainly are air quality complaints, but as many upwind as downwind.

Particulates contaminating fruits were expected because of our experience with the Hagersville tire fire. But particulates are very much comparable to running with dirty-coal technology.

Odours were anticipated, and there is no significant increase in them other than during start up after a period of shutdown. By increase, I mean, compared with previous dirty coal technology.

This plant's burning technology should have been upgraded regardless of tires. We are comparing undesirable with downright awful before. They got a permit based on the overall effect, including the risk of leaving tires to accumulate  and possibly burn by accident.