A Minnesota foundry is considering using tires for fuel, but some neighbors are concerned about emissions.
A plan to test tires as a possible fuel supplement in the furnaces of a Gary-New Duluth foundry has some neighbors fired up.
ME Global is seeking a state permit to incinerate up to 148 tires in a test lasting about three days, said Bruce Braaten, a senior air permitting engineer for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
If the addition of tires to the company's electric-arc furnaces significantly boosts efficiency, ME Global then could choose to pay for a second round of testing that involves analyzing the effects on plant emissions. Braaten said the MPCA would review those emissions, checking for nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide -- gases that can contribute to acid rain and smog -- as well as carbon monoxide, particulates, heavy metals, dioxin and hydrogen chloride.
Braaten said a New York foundry is using tires as fuel, but emissions data is inadequate for Minnesota to base any conclusions on its operation.
By adding a tire or two to every ton of scrap iron it melts down, ME Global hopes to reduce the amount of electricity its furnaces consume when operating at temperatures of between 2,400 and 2,800 degrees. Braaten said the carbon in the tires has about the same energy content as coal, and fibers in steel radials can readily be incorporated into ME Global's product.
Braaten said a legal newspaper announcement gave residents a 30-day notice of the approaching comment period. Additionally, he said individual letters were sent to representatives of the Citizens Coalition and of other community groups in the area. However, mailings were not sent out to all the homes surrounding ME Global.
Judging by the uproar over a proposal to build a much larger tire-burning power plant in Preston, a city in southeastern Minnesota, Braaten anticipated that word of ME Global's plans would spread quickly through Gary-New Duluth. The Preston plant would consume 100,000 tons of tires annually, but the project has been held up in the face of stiff opposition.
Braaten said the proposed small-scale test in Gary-New Duluth should provide useful information that can be used to create dispersion models and evaluate whether tires are an appropriate fuel stock for a foundry.
He said the test would be of such short duration that it should not constitute a public health risk.
"Most of the concern is about exposure to emissions over the long term," Braaten said.
If, after testing, ME Global decides it wants to consume tires on a larger scale, Braaten said the company would need to amend its operational permit, a process that would again open the way for additional public comment and hearings.
ME Global representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. Duluth News Tribune