With some 10 million discarded tires being consumed each year at dedicated tire-to-energy facilities, tire derived fuel (TDF) technology is an effective alternative energy source to coal, oil, wood and natural gas. It is used by cement kilns, pulp and paper mills and power plants across the continent to conserve vast amounts of natural resources, according to Jeffrey Kendall, CEO of Liberty Tire Recycling.

TDF is essentially shredded tires that are processed to rid them of steel and fiber material, creating fuel chips that produce 25 percent more energy than coal while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 19.5 percent, he says.

“Based on more than a decade of testing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the use of TDF as a viable alternative to the use of fossil fuels,” Kendall continues.

“TDF is one of several viable alternatives to prevent newly generated scrap tires from inappropriate disposal in tire piles, and for reducing or eliminating existing tire stockpiles,” he says.

Liberty provides enough TDF to generate 100 percent of the electricity needed to power a city of 153,000 people – equal to the population of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says Kendall.

When used as an alternative energy source, TDF generates up to 16,000 BTUs per pound with lower moisture, sulfur, nitrogen and ash than fossil fuels, he reports.

Potentially, according to Kendall, all of the scrap tires annually produced in the U.S. could provide an energy source equivalent to 13 million barrels of crude oil.

Liberty currently reclaims more than 130 million tires each year throughout the U.S. and Canada, creating about 1.5 billion pounds of recycled rubber.

For more information, visit www.libertytire.com.