Evaluation of shredded tyre chips as sorption media for passive treatment walls

The potential of shredded tyre chips, either on their own or mixed with gravel, to act as a permeable reactive barrier has been examined by carrying out tests for assessing sorption characteristics and establishing their mechanical properties. Sorption–desorption tests have been carried out using free product petrol and paraffin and aqueous phase phenol and cresols. tion and compressibility tests have been carried out to establish optimum tyre–chip mixes in order to optimise the mix in terms of compressibility behaviour. The results demonstrate that tyre chips show significant promise for incorporation in a permeable reactive barrier. The evidence indicates that they would be particularly effective for the retardation of aqueous phase hydrophobic organic contaminants and residual free product. Optimum mixes of 2–6 mm tyre chips and 20 mm gravel, in terms of mechanical stability, will contain just under 10% of tyre chips.